Epidemiology

THE TRIANGLE OF EPIDEMIOLOGY (Epidemiological triad)

The characteristics of a disease are largely dependent on the relationship between the environment, the disease causing microorganism (pathogen) and a susceptible host. Health; it must be noted is a state of equilibrium or balance between susceptible host (the individual) and the agent (pathogenic microorganism). The features of host, environment, and agent (disease cause) are […]

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EXPERIMENTAL EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY

Experimental epidemiological study can also be referred to as clinical trials. It is an analytical epidemiological study that examines the role of some specific agents in the treatment or prevention of a particular disease in a population. An experimental epidemiological study usually involves two phases of study in terms of their design: experimental study for

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SOURCES OF CASES & CONTROL IN AN EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY

SOURCES OF CASES IN AN EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY Cases in an epidemiological study can be sourced in any of the following ways: SOURCES OF CONTROLS IN AN EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY Controls in an epidemiological study can be sourced in any of the following ways: References Aschengrau A and Seage G.R (2013). Essentials of Epidemiology in Public Health.

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ECOLOGICAL STUDIES

Ecological epidemiological studies are observational descriptive studies that investigate the rate of a disease in relation to a disease factor demonstrated on a population level rather than at individual levels. This type of study can also be called correlational epidemiological study or cluster investigations, and it examines a disease using a group of people or

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CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY  

Cross-sectional studies are descriptive observational epidemiological studies which investigates the prevalence or occurrence of a disease in a given community/population. It is the most straightforward type of observational epidemiological study in the sense that it examines a cross-section of a community at one particular point in time and, extrapolates the results of the study to

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PROSPECTIVE (COHORT) STUDY

Prospective or cohort studies are an observational analytic epidemiological study in which the starting point is the selection of a study population known as cohort.  In this type of study, the investigator selects participants exclusively on the basis of their exposure status which is in contrast to retrospective studies where participants are selected on the

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RETROSPECTIVE (CASE-CONTROL) STUDY

Retrospective study which can also be called case control study is an observational analytic epidemiologic study that makes use of information or data from a sample of the study population (i.e. the exposed individuals of the population) rather than looking at the full members of the population. In case control studies, the epidemiologist or researcher

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CASE REPORTS & CASE SERIES

Case reports are epidemiological studies that consist of the careful and thorough or comprehensive description of a patient’s health or disease summary which is usually given by the physician in charge of that patient. It is the most fundamental type of descriptive epidemiological study obtained from an individual in the investigation of a disease outbreak.

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ANALYTICAL EPIDEMIOLOGY

Analytical epidemiological study is a more detailed and all-encompassing epidemiological study than the descriptive epidemiological study. An analytical study describes the association between exposure and outcome (disease). It is meant to test the hypothesis of a descriptive epidemiology. Analytical study investigates the cause of a disease by studying how exposure of individuals relate to the

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PORTAL OF ENTRY OF INFECTIOUS AGENTS INTO THE BODY

Pathogenic bacteria enter the human body in various ways and through various medium or routes. Some of the portal of entry of infectious agents into our body including bacteria, protozoa, viruses and fungi are as follows: THE SKIN The human skin is usually the first physical barrier that prevents the entry of pathogenic microorganisms into

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