COMMUNITY AND PUBLIC HEALTH FOR MEDICAL LABORATORY SCIENCE
LESSON 2: HUMAN ECOLOGY,
DEMOGRAPHY, AND INTRODUCTION TO
EPIDEMIOLOGY
ECOLOGY
- The scientific study of interactions
between organisms and their environments
Ecosystem – populations in a community and the
abiotic factors which they interact.
Community – several interaction populations that
habit a common environment and are
interdependent
Population – a group of organisms of the same
specie living in the same place at the same time
COMMUNITY
It is a social group determined by geographic
boundaries and/or common values and interests.
Classes of Community
 Urban
high density, a socially homogenous population
and a complex structure, non-agricultural
occupations, something different from an area
characterized by complex interpersonal social
relations.
 Rural
Usually small and the occupation of the people
is usually farming. Fishing and food gathering.
It is composed of people with simple folks
characterized by primary group relation, well-
knit and having a high degree of group feeling.
 Rurban
A combination of rural and urban community
Eight (8) subsystems of the community
Housing
Education
Fire and Safety
BSMT 2B (D1CB)
Politics and government
Health
Communication
Economics
Recreation
DEMOGRAPHY
The statistical study of human population
Demographic analysis – can be applied to whole
societies to groups defined by criteria
Such as education, nationality , region, and ethnicity
DATA and METHODS
1. Census – most common direct method of
collecting demographic area
Methods of Data Collection
1. Direct – vital statistics registries that track all
birth and deaths.
2. Indirect – secondary data
TERMS
Crude Birth rate – annual number live births per
1000 people.
General Fertility rate – annual number live births
per 1000 women of child bearing age (15 to 49
years old.
Age Specific Fertility - annual number live births
per 1000 women of a particular group
Crude Death Rate – annual number of deaths per
1000 people
Replacement level fertility – average number of
children a woman must have in order to replace
herself with a daughter in the next generation.
Stable production – constant crude birth
Stationary population – one that is both stable and
unchanging in size
 COMMUNITY AND PUBLIC HEALTH FOR MEDICAL LABORATORY SCIENCE
Introduction to Epidemiology
Epidemiology
Study the occurrence and distribution of diseases as
well as distribution of determinants of health state
or events in specified population and the
application of this study to control health problems.
3 Aims of Epidemiology
Construct natural history of disease
Study immediate special problems in health
Evaluate effectiveness of program/therapy
EPIDEMIC
- an increase in the frequency (incidence) of a
disease above the usual and expected rate, which is
called the endemic rate., thus epidemiology count
cases of a disease, and when they detect the sign of
epidemic, they ask WHO, WHEN and WHERE
questions.
What is the Goal of epidemiology?
The ultimate goal is to use this knowledge to
CONTROL and PREVENT the spread of disease.
Main Areas of Investigation
Describes the distribution of health status in terms
of age, gender, race, geography, and time.
Patterns of disease distribution in terms of causal
factor
In epidemiology of any disease or event, one
studies the factor which contribute to its causation
and behavior- AGENT, HOST, ENVIRONMENT
Types of Agents
1. This could be living or non-living things,
physical or mechanical in nature such as extremes
of temperature, light, electricity.
2. They could be chemicals- endogenous (within
the body) or exogenous (poison)
BSMT 2B (D1CB)
Characteristics of Agent of disease
Inherent characteristics- physical feature, biological
requirement, chemical composition, resistance
Characteristic in relation to the environment- refers
to the reservoir and source of infection and modes
of transmission.
Characteristics directly related to man
Infectivity- ability to gain access and adapt to the
human host to the extent of finding of finding
lodgement and multiplication
Pathogenicity- measures the ability of agent when
lodged in the body set up a specific reaction
Virulence- refers to the severity of the reaction
produce and is usually measured in terms of
fatality.
Antigenicity- ability to stimulate the host to
produce antibody
Modes of Transmission
Direct transmission- immediate transfer of
infectious agent a receptive portal of entry
Indirect transmission
Vehicle borne- contaminated inanimate objects or
materials
Vector-borne- from other living organism (ex.
Insects)
Mechanical vector
Biological vector
Airborne- dissemination of microbial aerosols to a
suitable portal of entry usually the respiratory tract
Droplet nuclei- usually small residues which result
from evaporation of fluid from droplets emitted by
an infected host
Dust
 COMMUNITY AND PUBLIC HEALTH FOR MEDICAL LABORATORY SCIENCE

THE HOST FACTOR OF DISEASE

Age
Sex
Race
Habits, Customs and religions
Exposure to agent

BSMT 2B (D1CB)