Q1. Different measures of disease are useful to evaluate and assess public healt
ID: 150736 • Letter: Q
Question
Q1. Different measures of disease are useful to evaluate and assess public health programs and needs in differen situations.
Refer to Chapter 3 in Friis and Sellers (2014).
State which measure would best support your goal and briefly explain why you chose that measure for each of the following questions (numbers 1 - 5).
Measures of disease:
I = incidence rate (p. 126)
P = prevalence (p. 113)
L = lifetime prevalence (p. 114)
M = crude mortality rate (crude death rate) (p. 112)
R = sex ratio (counts) (p. 109)
1. To demonstrate the risks of car-train crashes at railroad crossings without warning signals.
2. To demonstrate the amount of children's exposure to secondhand cigarette smoke.
3. To estimate the number of persons who have had leukemia during their lifetimes.
4. To estimate the number of healthcare facilities needed to support patients with Alzheimer's disease.
5. To argue that mortality from HIV infection is a more serious public health problem in one region of the US than another.
Explanation / Answer
1. To demonstrate the risks of car-train crashes at railroad crossings without warning signals.
ANSWER- Incidence rate would be a good measure in this study. Incidence tells us about the new cases of disease during a period of time. It thus indicates the risks of occurrence. So it is suitable to study the risk of accidents.
2. To demonstrate the amount of children's exposure to secondhand cigarette smoke.
ANSWER-Prevalence can be used to study the amount of children’s exposure to secondhand smoke. Prevalence is the proportion of people being affected by disease during a period of time. First, we calculate the proportion of children being exposed to smoke and then calculate the amount of smoke.
3. To estimate the number of persons who have had leukemia during their lifetimes.
ANSWER- Lifetime prevalence. It can be defined as the proportion of population which experiences the disease at some point in their life. We choose Lifetime prevalence because disease can happen at anytime during this time period.
4. To estimate the number of healthcare facilities needed to support patients with Alzheimer's disease.
ANSWER -Prevalence.
Prevalence is calculated to asses the no. of people affected in a given population during a given time period. It is a good measure to plan for health services. It is calculated by diving the no. of diseased people by total no. of population studied.
5. To argue that mortality from HIV infection is a more serious public health problem in one region of the US than another.
ANSWER- Crude mortality rate is the no. of deaths divided in a geographic area by total population in the same geographic area. Crude mortality of one geographic area can be compared to other. The geographic area which has higher mortality rate has a more serious Public Health problem due to HIV infection.
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