Week 3

Question 1

What is Epidemiology?

Answer 1

It is the study of the distribution and factors that determine health-related states or events in a population, and the use of this information to control
health problems.

Question 2

What is Descriptive epidemiology:

Answer 2

a form of epidemiology that describes a disease

according to its person, place, or time.

Question 3

What is Analytic epidemiology:

Answer 3

looks at the etiology (origins or causes) of the

disease and deals with determinants of health and disease.

Question 4

What is the purpose of Purpose of Epidemiology

Answer 4

Determine the causes of health and disease
in a population
 Monitor the health of the population
 Identify the determinants of health and
disease in communities
 Investigate and evaluate interventions to
prevent disease and maintain health

Question 5

What is a pandemic

Answer 5

is an epidemic of disease that has spread across a large region; for instance multiple continents, or even worldwide.

Question 6

In the consideration of the temporal distribution of illness and disease, we focus on the:

Answer 6

incidence and prevalence

Question 7

Is the study of measles rates in Australia classed as an ecological study or a case study?

Answer 7

Ecological

Question 8

Examples of pandemics include:

Answer 8

HIV, Swine Flu, Zika Virus, Cholera, Ebola

Question 9

Epidemiological studies in Nursing are mainly

Answer 9

Qualitative studies

Question 10

How can nurses contribute to epidemiological research?

Answer 10

Nurses must contribute to nursing research using epidemiological studies and also publish their findings

Question 11

What is an epidemic

Answer 11

An epidemic is the rapid spread of infectious disease to a large number of people in a given population within a short period of time, usually two weeks or less

Question 12

How Nurses Use Epidemiology

Answer 12

Nurses look at health and at disease causation, and how both prevent and treat illness. Nurses are involved in the surveillance and monitoring of disease trends

Question 13

Examples of nursing positions that use epidemiology:

Answer 13

 Nurse epidemiologist
 School nurses
 Communicable disease nurse
 Environmental risk communicators
 Hospital infections control nurse

Question 14

DISTRIBUTION:

Answer 14

• How is disease distributed in society?
• Demographic = who has it.
• Geographic = where are they.
• Temporal = how is it changing over
time.
• Exposure = what is causing it.

Question 15

CAUSATION:

Answer 15

• How much do the exposures contribute?
• Look at correlations ie. the exposures may or may not be
related.

Question 16

Ecological study

Answer 16

• Information of disease rates/types/exposure,
• Conducted on a group of people – small or large,
• Results only apply to groups not individuals.

Question 17

Case Series

Answer 17

• Looks at a group of people who have the same

characteristics eg. the same disease.

Question 18

Cross Sectional Study

Answer 18

• Looks at health information of a group of people
at a given time,
• Usually information collected by questionnaire
• Chosen sample needs to be representative of the
whole.

Question 19

Case Control Studies

Answer 19

• Starts because there are cases of people with a disease
• Uses a control group of people who do not have the
disease
• Exposure to risk factors is examined

Question 20

Cohort Studies

Answer 20

• A group of people are followed over a period of time (often years)
• Information about risk factors are collected
• Can compare a group who were exposed to a risk factor to those who
were not

Question 21

Interventional Studies

Answer 21

• An intervention is done on a group of people
• The people are then studied to see what the outcome is
• The outcome can be +ive or –ive or no change