Nur 405 Epidemiology Paper

Epidemiology defined: The basic science of public health in which the causing factor, population, frequency, and relevant intervention is found in the case of an outbreak.

Every year, millions of people start talking about the influenza virus and getting their vaccines as the flu season approaches, which starts around the October-November period and reaches its peak between December and March. Therefore, public health officials around the world- and in the U.S in particular- are constantly challenged by properly preparing for the annual influenza dilemma, given that this viruses, and other respiratory viruses, are a serious health threat to the U.S population and the world as a whole. Furthermore, what makes the influenza virus even more challenging to control is that it can mutate rapidly and reassort to form new strains, having the ability to reside in multiple animal hosts. In fact, many scientists and researchers have been doing in-depth intensive research so as to understand the mechanism behind this unique characteristic of the virus, try to find new ways to control it, and explore different areas of protection and vaccination.

The epidemilogic triangle describes the relationships and interactions among the infectious agent, the host, and

Although the majority of people infected with influenza recover completely within a week to ten days, some people are at a greater risk of experiencing more severe and long-lasting complications. The flu can lead to complications such as pneumonia and in some circumstances, severe complications in high-risk groups can lead to death. The number of deaths attributed to influenza varies each year, but it is estimated to be approximately 500 to 1500 deaths per influenza season. People who are at an increased risk for complications include very young children, people over 65 years of age, and those already suffering from medical conditions including bronchitis, heart disease, diabetes, and kidney disease. Influenza vaccinations administered to high-risk people reduce hospitalizations, premature deaths, and they result in substantial cost savings to the health care system.

In recent years encouragement to get flu shots has become a yearly mantra. Elderly, children six months to two years, health care workers and immune-deficient people are urged in the strongest terms to go to their doctors or clinics and get a flu shot. This group encompasses about 98 million people. In the fall of 2004 this was in the forefront of American and to some extent the Western World media with the shortage of this flu seasons vaccine. Current medical wisdom states that flu shots are safe, effective and prevent mortality. A recent study published by The Journal of the American Medicine Association (JAMA) has brought the current wisdom into question. On February 14, 2005 JAMA

Epidemiology, What? Is that even an English word? Epidemiology is the study of health and health concerns in a population with an emphasis on establishing cause and effect. Epidemiology looks at how the disease manifests and spreads through out a population that are a risk and come up with effective prevention and treatment.

The roal of public health nursing is to promote and protect the health of the population. This proactive approach does not limit their scope of practice to health concerns of individuals but also to developing and implementing programs and policies that help enhance the health of populations. The role of public health nurses is to focus on population centered care with the outcome of promoting health, preventing disability and disease, and improving the quality of life. An effective public health nurse is able to evaluate assessment data to define population diagnoses and set priorities accordingly. They can also serve as advocates for individuals and families in the population to develop policies, access resources, and protect their

Each year in the United States, 3000–49,000 influenza associated deaths occur, with over 90% reported among older adults aged 65 years or older. Influenza also results in an estimated 226,000 hospitalizations, with hospitalization rates among older adults increasing over the past 2 decades (Nace et al., 2015). Influenza is a highly transmissible viral illness that may lead to severe complications from underlying diseases, primary viral or secondary bacterial pneumonia and death (NCBI, 2015). Immunization is one of the most powerful and cost effective interventions against

According to Healthy People 2020 a goal of theirs is to “increase immunization rates and reduce preventable infections.” The influenza virus is one of these preventable infections, which can cause serious harm to patients. The influenza virus is known as the “flu.” Everyone in his or her life has had some experience with the flu, whether that is himself or herself or a family member. What if there was a way to ensure people from contracting a strain of the influenza virus? Well, thanks to technology and medical research there is.

In recent year, increasing attention has been given to vaccination strategies that exploit herd protection against influenza in the most vulnerable population such as the elderly over 65 years old and young children because of limitations of direction vaccination in these populations 96,97.

This will help from spreading the influenza and it will also allow the recovery time to speed up (“Influenza”). It is recommended to take an over-the-counter medication to lower any fever and to drink lots of liquids to ensure hydration (“Influenza”). It is important to follow these treatments carefully because the influenza can lead to other complications. It can cause pneumonia, sinus infection, and ear infections (“Influenza”). There are certain groups of people are at a higher risk of complication; these groups include elderly people, young children, people with asthma, and pregnant women (“Influenza”). The elderly are who the influenza affects most; 90 percent of the death that come from the influenza are from people over the age of 65 (“Influenza”).

In summary, the influenza vaccine is a strong agreement between the controls of the effective measure to reduce the spread of influenza, which is caused disease among research experts. It is a represents a few severe side effects. Experts acknowledge that there may be effective in increasing vaccination rates to be identified barriers to vaccination and immunization programs

Epidemiology is what advises people of new world epidemics and new health standards worldwide. Epidemiologist are well known for their ideal way to handle and control epidemics of the everyday modern world by conducting research and going through various experiments. Epidemiology was first well known in the mid-1800´s (1854) but is know to have existed for about 2,500 years

I was drawn to the idea of not only focusing on one-on-one patient care that doctors provide, but also solving problems that affect the health of entire populations. The study of disease and health within populations; for instance, preventing disease, promoting health, and reducing health problems between groups are the main reasons I want to pursue an M.P.H focusing on epidemiology. These are my strongest interests because I believe they are important in improving our world’s health.

This paper defines and explains the six core functions of epidemiology: Public health surveillance, field investigation, analytic studies, evaluations, linkages, and policy development. The core functions of epidemiology lay down a foundation on which epidemiologists can begin to work from. This paper will look at the benefits of incorporating all six of these functions into a working plan when health officials, medical personnel, first responders, etc., encounter a disease or illness that needs to be identified, treated and contained.