Descriptive Epidemiology Flashcards
(28 cards)
What is a case definition?
A set of clinical and/or laboratory criteria used to identify individuals who have the outcome of interest.
Why should case definitions be used consistently?
To ensure all individuals with the outcome are identified.
What is the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)?
A commonly used system for standardized classifying and reporting of many health-related outcomes.
What categories can a case definition include to reflect uncertainty?
- Suspect
- Probable
- Confirmed
What are false negatives in case definitions?
Individuals with the outcome who are classified as not having the outcome.
What are false positives in case definitions?
Individuals who do not have the outcome but are classified as having it.
What is a case report?
A detailed description of a single person with the outcome of interest.
What guidelines should case reports follow?
CAse REport (CARE) guidelines.
What is a case series?
A collection of case reports for multiple individuals with the same outcome.
What is public health surveillance?
Collection of health-related data used to describe and understand the burden of disease, health-related outcomes, and/or exposures.
What is passive surveillance?
Health agencies receive data on health-related outcomes from reporting sites.
What is active surveillance?
Health agencies engage in proactive and regular contact.
What is sentinel surveillance?
A limited number of reporting sites selected for proactive contact by health agencies.
What are person characteristics in epidemiology?
Demographic factors including age, biological sex, gender, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, health-related behaviors, and biologic characteristics.
How can descriptions of outcomes by person be used?
- Understand how outcomes vary across groups
- Consider different treatment or prevention needs
- Inform public health policy
- Generate hypotheses about potential causes
What are place characteristics in epidemiology?
Geographic factors including country, state, city, and neighborhood.
What is the importance of describing outcomes by time?
It helps evaluate the success of treatment or prevention programs and predict future outcome occurrence.
What are the types of calculations in epidemiology?
- Ratio
- Proportion
- Rate
What is the difference between incidence and prevalence?
Incidence measures new cases of disease while prevalence measures existing cases.
What is cumulative incidence?
The measure of newly occurring outcomes during a follow-up period among at-risk people.
What is the formula for risk?
Risk = Number of newly occurring outcomes / Number of at-risk people observed.
What is the limitation of cumulative incidence?
It requires following the entire population for the specified time interval, which is rarely possible.
What is incidence rate?
A measure of how quickly new outcomes occur in at-risk persons during a follow-up period.
What is person-time?
Total time contributed by all individuals who were at-risk.
