EPIDEMIOLOGY HOSA QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS LATEST UPDATE
epidemiology
scientific method used to investigate, analyze and prevent or control a health problem in
a population.
Epidemic
a health problem that exists in a community to a greater degree than you would expect.
Bias
a flaw in either the study design or data analysis that leads to an erroneous result.
Case Fatality rate
mathematical quantity that describes the severity of a disease Y, proportion of persons
diagnosed with a disease Y who actually die from disease Y during the period of
observation:
exposure
generic term used to describe the effective presence of any agent or factor that is
thought to cause disease
Hypothesis testing
The epidemiological process by which researchers ask the question: " Does the
association that I have observed represent a causal relationship between the putative
exposure and the disease?"
Prevalence
mathematical quantity that describes the presence of a disease Y in a population
# with disease Y in population p at a given time
# in population p
Incidence
the occurrence of a disease Y in a population. It is the proportion of persons in the
population who newly develop the disease Y within a given time period (t)
# who develop the disease Y in population p in a time t
# in population p
Racial and ethnic health disparities
There are very few diseases for which those differences result from biological factors
others can usually be traced to socioeconomic phenomena
Attributable risks
group of measures which describe the amount of disease risk that can be attributed to a
given factor X
(Incidence in population) - (Incidence in unexposed group)]/ (Incidence in population)
Screening
process of early diagnosis of a disease, i.e. identification of disease or risk factors for
the disease in its pre-symptomatic or pre-clinical stage. Breast cancer screening
Passive Surveillance
more common form of surveillance used by most local and state health departments;
health care providers report notifiable conditions
, active surveillance
data actively collected, more specific objective, information-gathering tools
(questionnaires etc), more useful in epidemiological research than passive.
Dallas Fire Study
Study measured fires in dallas neighborhoods to find causation, concluded that control
efforts to prevent house fire injuries should target the elderly, minorities, low-income
populations and houses without functioning smoke alarms.
cohort study
A type of epidemiologic study where a group of exposed individuals (individuals who
have been exposed to the potential risk factor) and a group of non-exposed individuals
are followed over time to determine the incidence of disease. Follow up studies with
people without disease but with exposure
case control study
A study type that uses cases (with the health problem) and compares them with controls
(without the health problem) to find out what may have caused the problem. A type of
retrospective study.
cross sectional study
A research study that examines the effects of development (maturation) by examining
different subjects at various ages
ecologic study
Epidemiologic study in which the units of analysis are populations or groups of people
rather than individuals. Large groups studied like carrolton community
descriptive epidemiology
The aspect of epidemiology concerned with organizing and summarizing health-related
data according to time, place, and person
analytic epidemiology
a form of epidemiology that investigates causes and associations between factors or
events and health
contingency table
Shows risk factor by creating a 2x2 table marked with disease and exposure.
Relative risk
The ratio of the incidence of the condition in people who have the risk factor to the
incidence of the condition in people who do not have it.
Risk difference
Risk exposed-risk unexposed
attributable fraction
proportion of disease Y in population that can be attributed to factor X
Criteria for causal relationships
exposure occurring before the outcome; the strength of the association; the existence of
an incremental increase in risk associated with increase in degree of exposure to the
risk factor; consistency of the association across various studies; and biological
plausibility of the proposed causal link between exposure and outcome.
sensitivity
the proportion of people with the condition who have a positive test result.
specificity
the proportion of people without the condition who have a negative test result
ANSWERS LATEST UPDATE
epidemiology
scientific method used to investigate, analyze and prevent or control a health problem in
a population.
Epidemic
a health problem that exists in a community to a greater degree than you would expect.
Bias
a flaw in either the study design or data analysis that leads to an erroneous result.
Case Fatality rate
mathematical quantity that describes the severity of a disease Y, proportion of persons
diagnosed with a disease Y who actually die from disease Y during the period of
observation:
exposure
generic term used to describe the effective presence of any agent or factor that is
thought to cause disease
Hypothesis testing
The epidemiological process by which researchers ask the question: " Does the
association that I have observed represent a causal relationship between the putative
exposure and the disease?"
Prevalence
mathematical quantity that describes the presence of a disease Y in a population
# with disease Y in population p at a given time
# in population p
Incidence
the occurrence of a disease Y in a population. It is the proportion of persons in the
population who newly develop the disease Y within a given time period (t)
# who develop the disease Y in population p in a time t
# in population p
Racial and ethnic health disparities
There are very few diseases for which those differences result from biological factors
others can usually be traced to socioeconomic phenomena
Attributable risks
group of measures which describe the amount of disease risk that can be attributed to a
given factor X
(Incidence in population) - (Incidence in unexposed group)]/ (Incidence in population)
Screening
process of early diagnosis of a disease, i.e. identification of disease or risk factors for
the disease in its pre-symptomatic or pre-clinical stage. Breast cancer screening
Passive Surveillance
more common form of surveillance used by most local and state health departments;
health care providers report notifiable conditions
, active surveillance
data actively collected, more specific objective, information-gathering tools
(questionnaires etc), more useful in epidemiological research than passive.
Dallas Fire Study
Study measured fires in dallas neighborhoods to find causation, concluded that control
efforts to prevent house fire injuries should target the elderly, minorities, low-income
populations and houses without functioning smoke alarms.
cohort study
A type of epidemiologic study where a group of exposed individuals (individuals who
have been exposed to the potential risk factor) and a group of non-exposed individuals
are followed over time to determine the incidence of disease. Follow up studies with
people without disease but with exposure
case control study
A study type that uses cases (with the health problem) and compares them with controls
(without the health problem) to find out what may have caused the problem. A type of
retrospective study.
cross sectional study
A research study that examines the effects of development (maturation) by examining
different subjects at various ages
ecologic study
Epidemiologic study in which the units of analysis are populations or groups of people
rather than individuals. Large groups studied like carrolton community
descriptive epidemiology
The aspect of epidemiology concerned with organizing and summarizing health-related
data according to time, place, and person
analytic epidemiology
a form of epidemiology that investigates causes and associations between factors or
events and health
contingency table
Shows risk factor by creating a 2x2 table marked with disease and exposure.
Relative risk
The ratio of the incidence of the condition in people who have the risk factor to the
incidence of the condition in people who do not have it.
Risk difference
Risk exposed-risk unexposed
attributable fraction
proportion of disease Y in population that can be attributed to factor X
Criteria for causal relationships
exposure occurring before the outcome; the strength of the association; the existence of
an incremental increase in risk associated with increase in degree of exposure to the
risk factor; consistency of the association across various studies; and biological
plausibility of the proposed causal link between exposure and outcome.
sensitivity
the proportion of people with the condition who have a positive test result.
specificity
the proportion of people without the condition who have a negative test result
