PH 101 CHAPTER 3

Introduction to Epidemiology00:00:00

The video defines epidemiology as the study of disease, injury, and death in communities, contrasting population health with individual patient care. It outlines the goals of monitoring health status and identifying common characteristics among sick individuals across various conditions including infectious, chronic, and environmental diseases.

Key Terms and History00:01:57

The lecture defines essential terminology such as epidemic, endemic, and pandemic, providing examples like malaria in Palawan and COVID-19. It briefly covers the history of the field from Hippocrates to John Snow's investigation of the Broad Street Pump cholera outbreak in 1854.

Epidemiological Rates00:06:00

This section explains the importance of rates over raw numbers for comparing health events across populations. It distinguishes between incidence rates for acute diseases, attack rates for single outbreaks, and prevalence rates for chronic diseases, including examples of computation.

Notifiable Diseases and Reporting00:11:13

The discussion covers legal requirements for reporting births, deaths, and notifiable diseases to health departments, citing RA1332 in the Philippines. It lists diseases categorized by mode of transmission such as droplet, airborne, vector-borne, and direct contact.

Descriptive Studies00:14:08

Descriptive studies are introduced as the first step in epidemiology to describe disease extent by person, time, and place. The lecture explains epidemic curves, distinguishing between common source (point and continuous) and propagated curves using examples like spoiled food and chicken pox.

Analytic Studies and Causation00:20:56

The final part discusses analytic studies that test hypotheses regarding risk factors and the difference between observational and experimental studies. It concludes with Austin Bradford Hill's criteria for causation, including strength, consistency, specificity, temporality, and biological plausibility.