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Introduction to Public Health

Epidemiologist Study Grant Reply to each Peer about their post.

Epidemiologist Study Grant Discussion Reply 1 Martina :

Epidemiologists study a variety of things “…to determine not only the existence of an association between an exposure and a disease, but also the strength of that association” (Schneider, 2017, p.62). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number one leading cause of death in California is heart disease (CDC). In the year of 2018, California’s death rate from heart disease was 139.7 (CDC). Heart disease, also known as Cardiovascular disease, is a generalized term that can mean a variety of conditions affecting the heart. This can involve blocked blood vessels that lead to chest pain, a heart attack, or stroke.

If I was an epidemiologist conducting a research study on heart disease, I would conduct a case-control study. A case-control study will evaluate people who are already sick and look at the possible exposures leading up to it. Further, when evaluating the people who are sick, researchers will then compare healthy individuals of the same demographics. The according researcher will ask a series of the same questions to the two different kinds of people in order to compare the exposure to different underlying factors. This comparison will “…estimate the strength of the association between exposure and disease by calculating an odds ratio, which is an estimate of what the relative risk would be if a cohort study had been done” (Schneider, 2017, p.62). This odds ratio can be calculated by finding the quotient of exposed subjects to non exposed subjects to ratio of exposed subjects to non exposed subjects.

To conduct the study for specifically heart disease, I would evaluate a number of factors/symptoms such as: frequency of chest pain, fatigue, medical history (smoking, alcohol, etc.), and heart rate. By comparing these symptoms of people with the disease to healthy individuals, will allow me to see what contributes to possible heart disease.

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)., California – Leading Causes of Death. (2020, April 20). Retrieved July 14, 2020, from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/states/californ…

Schneider, M. (2017). Introduction to Public Health. [VitalSource Bookshelf]. Retrieved from https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781284118797/

Epidemiologist Study Grant Discussion Reply to Yanira:

Hello everyone,

For this week’s discussion, we are discussing the leading cause of death and how grant money should be considered for a research study for a health department.

In my state, Heart attack, Alzheimer’s, stroke is one of the most leading causes of death. As an epidemiologist, they are the ones who are supposed to extensive research on how illness is created. As mentioned (Schneider. 2017, p.42), “Epidemiology has had a different role to play in investigating the causes of the diseases common in older age, such as cancer and heart disease, which are quite different from infectious diseases or acute poisoning. Until the mid-20th century, these conditions were thought of as a natural part of aging, and no one thought to look for causes or tried to prevent them.” I would choose case-control studies to be able to help evaluate how exactly this illness occurs. I know that disease is often caused to make ethnicities, family background, eating habits, and many other leading causes. This will help with diagnosing each cause of death and might be able to help others understand and help them learn how to prevent getting sick, or most of the time, it will help people have a better understanding to prevent death. To be able to evaluate and have a more accurate study, I would interview few people with the same illness and compare their side effects and chief complaints; this will help me determine to obtain more of a more defined answer for the patients.

References:

California. (2020, April 20). Retrieved July 16, 2020, from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/states/california/ca.htm

Macera, C. A., Shaffer, R. A., & Shaffer, P. M. (2013). Introduction to epidemiology: Distribution and determinants of disease in humans (1sted.). Cengage Learning.

Schneider, M. (2017). Introduction to Public Health. [VitalSource Bookshelf]. Retrieved from https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/97812841187…

Epidemiologist Study Grant Discussion Reply to Makynna:

Based on the chapter readings this week, what type of epidemiological study should you select and why? Be sure to include the link you used to determine the leading cause of death for your state.

• As you can assume, the leading cause of death in California is unfortunately Heart Disease. In a state that is known for being fast and people constantly being on the go, there is no surprise for heart disease to be so common. A few of the main attributers to heart disease are diabetes, obesity, unhealthy weight, and excessive alcohol use. When considering California is a fast pace state, we can immediately assume that fast-food is something that has become a norm for many individuals. Due to low pay and high costs of living, many people have to work long hours or even have two jobs. Due to this we see people having less and less time to make themselves healthy meals, exercise, or even take some much needed R&R time. This fast paced lifestyle also causes much stress on individuals trying to make it by and who feel overwhelmed, which can in turn push people to turn to alcohol as a means for coping.
• Keeping all of this in mind, as an epidemiologist I would essentially follow the same type of long term study as the Farmingham Study. This would allow for an in-depth understanding of the economic changes that individuals go through and I would be able to see if there were any direct correlations between their health and economic/financial struggles.

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/heart_disease_mortality/heart_disease.htm

https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/about.htm