EPIDEMIOLOGY

 The course a disease takes in individual people from its

EPIDEMIOLOGY pathological onset until its resolution.
 Derived from two Greek words which are:
 Epi meaning “upon” and Demos meaning HOST-AGENT-ENVIRONMENT RELATIONSHIPS
“people”  The epidemiologic triangle is made up of three parts:
 It refers to what descends upon the people, especially agent, host, and environment.
disease.  In this model, disease results from the interaction between
 Epidemic is a very old word, dating back to at least the 3 rd the agent and the susceptible host in an environment that
century B.C. in the writings of Hippocrates. supports transmission of the agent from a source to that
 Epidemiology has been defined as the “science of host.
occurrence of disease”
 It is the systematic, scientific study of the distribution, AGENT
patterns and determinants of health, and as well as the  An animate or inanimate factor that must be present or
disease and condition frequencies in populations, for the lacking for a disease or condition to occur.
purpose of promoting wellness and preventive disease
conditions HOST
 According to Dizon, 1979  Living species capable of being infected or affected by an
 Epidemiology shall be considered as the study and agent.
investigation of disease, especially with reference to the
causation, transmission, occurrence, prevention, and ENVIRONMENT
control.  Everything external to a specific agent and host, including
humans and animals.
ASPECTS OF EPIDEMIOLOGY
 Epidemiology as a Descriptive Science PERSON-PLACE-TIME RELATIONSHIPS
 Epidemiology as a Constructive Science  To study the variables found to be most useful are person,
place, and time.
EPIDEMIOLOGY AS A DESCRIPTIVE SCIENCE  Person – Who is affected
 It collects facts  Place – Where affected
 It seeks to analyze  Time – When affected
 When monitoring incidence of infectious disease, the
EPIDEMIOLOGY AS A CONSTRUCTIVE SCIENCE terms used to distinguish relative frequency in time and
 Explain occurrences space include the following:
 It constructs knowledge to fill in gaps 1. Sporadic
2. Endemic
 The method used to gain knowledge
3. Epidemic
4. Pandemic
 Descriptive epidemiology searches for patterns by
examining characteristics of person, place, & time.

SPORADIC
 Occurring at intervals or only in a few places scattered
 Isolated

ENDEMIC
 Disease or condition regularly found among particular
people or in a certain

 Epidemiologists use a systematic approach to disease
outbreak investigations called the Epidemiologic
Process
 The ultimate goal of epidemiology is to improve health
and increase the quality of life.
 Improve health by lowering the risk of death
 Increase the quality of life by refining preventive
measures and treatments of diseases
EPIDEMIC
 Rapid spread of infectious disease
 Large number of people in a given population with in a
short period of time
 Usually happened for 2 weeks
PANDEMIC
 Infectious disease that has spread thru human population,
large region for entrance multiple content or worldwide

 Natural history of disease refers to the progression of a

disease process in an individual over time, in the absence
of treatment.

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LEVELS OF PREVENTION
 It includes the following levels:
1. Primary Prevention
2. Secondary Prevention
3. Tertiary Prevention
PRIMARY PREVENTION
 This is accomplished in the pre-pathogenesis period of the
natural history of disease
 Measures health promotion and specific protection
HEALTH PROMOTION
 Promotion of health in the positive sense includes
measures and procedures which are not generally
directed at any particular disease or disorder, but serve to
provide general health and well-being.
 It includes:
 Health education in the fundamental facts of
health and disease.
 Good standards of nutrition
 Healthful living habits
 Adequate housing recreation and as well as
agreeable working condition
 Attention to personality development
 Avoidance of fatigue as much as possible
SPECIFIC PROMOTION
 This is a prevention in its conventional sense and
comprises of measures applicable to a particular disease
or group of diseases to intercept the cause of disease
before they involve man.
 It includes:
 Plans for routine specific immunization and use
of booster doses at most effective periods.
 Selective immunizations based on exposure or
potential exposure.
 Good personal hygiene
 Proper isolation and quarantine when indicated
 Proper handling of vehicles of transmission (food,
water, etc.)
 Concurrent and terminal disinfection when
indicated
 Satisfactory vector control
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  Other environmental sanitation measures  Specific protection may not always be possible because of
gaps in knowledge or the failure or inability to utilize
existing knowledge of early preventive measures.
 This level provides for the prevention or delaying of the
consequences of clinically advanced disease.
 It includes:
 Complete Therapy
 Hospitalization, when indicated
 Use of home nursing services, when indicated

REHABILITATION
 This is more than the stopping of the disease process;
 It is also the prevention of complete disability after
anatomic changes are more or less stabilized.
 Its positive objective is to return the affected individual to a
useful place in society and make maximum use of his
remaining capacities.
 It includes:
 Hospitalization and work therapy in hospitals
 Public education to utilize the rehabilitated
 Selective placement

SECONDARY PREVENTION
 As soon as the disease process is detectable, early in
pathogenesis, secondary prevention may be
accomplished by:
 Early Diagnosis and Prompt Treatment

EARLY DIAGNOSIS AND PROMPT TREATMENT

 The obvious objectives of early diagnosis and prompt
treatment are:
1. To prevent spread to others if the disease is
communicable
2. To cure or arrest the disease process in order to
prevent complications or sequelae
3. To prevent prolonged disability.
 This level of prevention includes:
 Case finding by surveys & selective examinations
 Use of available laboratory procedures
 Use of consultant specialists in communicable
diseases
 Adequate identification of cases
 Examination of contacts

TERTIARY PREVENTION
 As the process of pathogenesis progresses, it is still
possible to accomplish prevention by what might be
termed as corrective therapy or tertiary prevention
 This level is essentially consisting of:
 Disability Limitation
 Rehabilitation

DISABILITY LIMITATION

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