Study Guide for Epidemiology for Public Health Practice, 3rd Edition
Summary and Study Guide for Unit I: Chapters 1-4
Partial List of Terms Discussed in This Unit
Acculturation
Age specific rates
Attack rate
Bimodal
Biological clock phenomenon
Breeder hypothesis
Causality
Changes in cause of death from 1990 to
present
Characteristics of epidemiology
Descriptive epidemiology
Determinant
Disappearing disorder
Downward drift
Dynamic population
Epidemic
Epidemiologic approach
Epidemiology
Fixed population
Geographical Information Systems
Graph interpretation
Hippocrates
Incidence
John Snow
John Graunt
Koch
Koch’s Postulates
Landmarks in epidemiology
Mill’s Cannons
Morbidity
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Mortality
Multi-modal
Nativity
Natural experiment
New epidemic disorders
Null hypothesis
Operations research
Persisting disorder
Point epidemic
Population
Prevalence
Primary prevention
Proportional mortality ratio
Protective factor
Quantification
Rate
Residual disorder
Risk factor
Secondary prevention
Secular time trends
Selective factor
Sinusoidal/cyclic fluctuations
Social causation
Space and time clustering
Specific rate
Standardized mortality ratio (SMR)
Tertiary prevention
Uses of epidemiology
William Farr
Study Guide for Epidemiology for Public Health Practice, 3rd Edition
Additional Review Questions
1.
What are some examples of diseases/conditions that show short- and long-term
fluctuations in rates?
2.
Name the seven uses of epidemiology.
3.
Describe the Natural History of Disease model.
4.
Define primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention and give examples.
5.
What is an epidemic?
6.
Who was John Snow?
7.
Define the terms attack rate and secondary attack rate.
8.
Define each of the following terms:
a. Incidence rate
b. Mortality rate
c. Prevalence rate
d. Case fatality rate
e. Proportional mortality ratio
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Study Guide for Epidemiology for Public Health Practice, 3rd Edition
9.
Under what circumstances would the incidence of a disease equal (or be similar
to) the prevalence? What different types of inferences can be made with incidence
and prevalence data?
10.
Explain the difference between morbidity and mortality rates.
11.
Discuss the similarities and differences among crude death rate, cause-specific
death rate, proportional mortality ratio, infant mortality rate, and maternal
mortality rate.
12.
Explain the difference between a proportion and a ratio.
13.
Describe the advantages and disadvantages of using crude rates.
14.
Define the term standardized mortality ratio (SMR).
15.
Define the following terms and indicate how they differ:
a. Age-specific rates
b. Age-adjusted rates
16.
Define the term cyclic variation.
17.
Distinguish between descriptive and analytic epidemiology.
18.
What is the difference between clinical and epidemiologic approaches in
describing disease?
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Study Guide for Epidemiology for Public Health Practice, 3rd Edition
Summary and Study Guide for Unit II: Chapters 5-8
Partial List of Terms Discussed in This Unit
Analytic study
Ambispective cohort study
Association
Bias
Blinding (masking)
Case-control study
Census tract
Clinical trial
Cohort study
Community trial
Correlation
Criteria for evaluation of statistical
information
Cross-sectional study
Ecologic fallacy
Ecologic study
Experimental study
Exposure cohort
External validity
Formative evaluation
Freedom of Information Act
Hawthorne effect
HIPAA
Hypothesis
Impact evaluation
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Independent variable
Intervention study
Metropolitan statistical area
Model
Necessary and sufficient cause
Observational study
Odds ratio
Outcome evaluation
Phases of clinical trials
Privacy Act
Process evaluation
Prophylactic trial
Prospective cohort
Quasi-experimental study
Randomization
Registry
Relative risk
Research question
Retrospective cohort study
Study outcome
Survival curve
Theory
Therapeutic trial
Treatment crossover
Vital statistics
Study Guide for Epidemiology for Public Health Practice, 3rd Edition
Additional Review Questions
1.
Name some of the qualities that are important to epidemiologic measures and data
sources.
2.
Explain the concept of external validity. How does it apply to the choice of data
sources?
3.
Discuss the uses, strengths, and weaknesses of the following data sources:
a. Health insurance statistics
b. Data from medical clinics
c. Special epidemiologic surveys, including morbidity surveys
d. Vital statistics
e. Absenteeism data from schools or work settings
f. Disease registers
g. Hospital and clinic statistics
4.
Identify three bibliographical databases for locating epidemiologic research
literature.
5.
Descriptive epidemiology includes the characteristics of person, place and time.
Discuss their relevance to understanding the distribution and dynamics of disease.
6.
Discuss the meaning of epidemiologic study cycles; e.g., how would an analytic
study follow from a descriptive study?
7.
Discuss the following types of research designs in terms of components,
strengths, and limitations in determining cause-effect relationships:
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Study Guide for Epidemiology for Public Health Practice, 3rd Edition
a. Cross-sectional
b. Case-control
c. Prospective cohort
d. Clinical trial
e. Community trial
8.
Explain what is meant by an ecologic study and give an example. Be sure to
discuss the uses and limitations of ecologic studies.
9.
What is a case-control study? Name some common sources of controls and list the
advantages and disadvantages of each.
10.
When does the odds ratio (OR) provide a good approximation of the risk
associated with a given exposure?
11.
What is a cohort study? Give two examples of major cohort studies.
12.
List the main characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages of cohort studies.
13.
Name the two types of intervention studies; compare and contrast them.
14.
Discuss the four stages of evaluation.
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Study Guide for Epidemiology for Public Health Practice, 3rd Edition
Summary and Study Guide for Unit III: Chapters 9-15
Partial List of Terms Discussed in This Unit
Active and passive immunity
Antigenicity
Attack rate
Attributable risk
Bias
Biological disease agents: (bacteria,
fungi, and viruses)
Case fatality rate
Chemical agents
Clostridium perfringens
Clostridium botulinum
Colonization
Confidence interval
Confounding variable
DALY
Depressive symptoms
Diagnostic test
Direct transmission
Dose-response relationship
Escherichia coli
Emerging infections
Endemic
Environment (sum of influences)
Enzootic disease
Epidemiologic triangle
Etiologic fraction
Fomite
General adaptation syndrome
Generation time
Genetic epidemiology
Healthy worker effect
Herd immunity
Host
How to investigate a food-borne illness
Iceberg concept of infection
Incubation period
Indirect (secondary) association
Infectivity
Internal validity
Intervening variable
Latency period
Lead time bias
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Life events
Lifestyle
Linkage analysis
LOD score
Matching
Molecular epidemiology
Multiple regression analysis
Multivariate
Non-causal association
P value
Pathogenicity
Person-environment fit
Physical environment
Polymorphic
Population etiologic fraction
Portal of exit
Portal of entry
Predictive value
Psychosocial epidemiology
Random error
Reliability
Reservoir
Resistance
Risk difference
Salmonella organisms
Screening test
Secondary attack rate
Segregation analysis
Selection bias
Sensitivity
Sentinel health event
Serial transfer vs. spread by a “common
vehicle”
Social environment
Social incongruity
Social support
Specificity
Spurious relationship
Staphylococcus aureus
Statistical control
Stress
Stress process model
Study Guide for Epidemiology for Public Health Practice, 3rd Edition
Subclinical/asymptomatic
Synergism
Systematic error
Threshold
Toxigenicity
Type A behavior pattern
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Validity
Vector
Vehicle transmission
Virulence
Zoonosis
Study Guide for Epidemiology for Public Health Practice, 3rd Edition
Additional Review Questions
1.
Cite methods for control of infectious disease in the community.
2.
What is herd immunity?
3.
When is isolation likely to be ineffective?
4.
What is meant by the term population at risk?
5.
Name four types of immunity.
6.
What is meant by screening?
7.
What is the purpose of screening?
8.
How are validity and reliability assessed?
9.
Why are sensitivity and specificity a trade-off?
10.
When should a screening test be conducted?
11.
What influences participation in a screening program?
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Study Guide for Epidemiology for Public Health Practice, 3rd Edition
12.
Differentiate between tests of significance and measures of association.
13.
How is the severity of infectious disease measured?
14.
What are the types of pathogenic effects produced by infective agents?
15.
What are the mechanisms of infection transmission?
16.
Discuss the following routes of transmission of infectious disease agents:
a. Airborne
b. Contact
c. Vector-borne
d. Vehicle-borne
e. Direct
f. Indirect
17.
Discuss the major steps necessary to investigate the possible outbreak of an
epidemic.
18.
What are the major factors that influence persons to migrate?
19.
Describe the use of the following research designs in occupational epidemiology:
ecologic, cross-sectional, and cohort.
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Study Guide for Epidemiology for Public Health Practice, 3rd Edition
20.
Describe the general sequence of steps in designing a historical prospective cohort
study of an occupational group.
21.
Differentiate between internal and external validity.
22.
What is random error? What are some factors that contribute to random error?
23.
What is systematic error? What are some factors that contribute to systematic
error?
24.
What are some techniques to reduce bias?
25.
Describe methods to control confounding.
26.
Discuss the characteristics of a good screening test.
27.
Describe procedures that can improve sensitivity and specificity.
28.
What are the characteristics of infectious disease agents?
29.
Discuss the fundamental differences between molecular and genetic
epidemiology.
30.
Describe the role of stressful life events as an influence upon disease.
Summary and Study Guide, p. 11 of 14
Study Guide for Epidemiology for Public Health Practice, 3rd Edition
General Review and Additional Drill
Define the following terms briefly:
1.
For a case-control study, define:
(a) individual odds
(b) odds ratio (relative odds)
2.
For a cohort study, define:
(a) individual risks
(b) relative risk
(c) attributable risk
3.
Define the following types of variables:
(a) independent (exposure)
(b) dependent (outcome)
(c) moderating (intervening)
(d) confounding
4.
Define the following types of study designs:
(a) analytic
(b) descriptive
(c) experimental
(d) intervention
5.
Persons lost to follow-up
6.
Person-years of observation
7.
State the definitions of the following terms from memory:
(a) relative risk
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Study Guide for Epidemiology for Public Health Practice, 3rd Edition
(b) attributable risk
(c) odds ratio
(d) sensitivity
(e) specificity
8.
Type A behavior
9.
Life stress
10.
Reliability and validity
11.
Person, time, place variables
12.
The natural history of disease and corresponding phases of prevention
13.
Psychosocial epidemiology
14.
Person-environment fit
15.
Mill’s Canons:
1.
2.
3.
4.
16.
Acculturation and health (Yano’s study)
17.
General adaptation syndrome (Selye’s concept)
18.
Five criteria of causality:
1.
2.
3.
4.
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Study Guide for Epidemiology for Public Health Practice, 3rd Edition
5.
19.
Incidence rates and prevalence rates
Answer the following questions:
1.
What is meant by screening? What is the purpose of screening? How are
validity and reliability assessed?
2.
What determines yield? How does disease prevalence affect predictive value
(+)?
3.
What procedures can be used to improve the sensitivity and specificity of a
screening test?
4.
State five attributes of a good screening test.
5.
What are the mechanisms of transmission of infection?
6.
Discuss the major steps necessary to investigate an outbreak of an epidemic.
7.
Describe the stages of demographic transition and include the implications for
public health, epidemiology, health education, and health care administration.
8.
Give examples of factors that might cause persons to migrate. How are studies
of migrants’ health impacted by the healthy migrant effect?
9.
Describe the uses of the following research designs in epidemiology: ecologic,
cross-sectional, and cohort.
10.
Give the formulas for measures of risk in study designs (OR, RR) and for
sensitivity and specificity of screening tests.
11.
Distinguish between reliability and validity of measures.
12.
Draw a diagram to illustrate how reliability and validity are interrelated.
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