Descriptive Epidemiology
HIV/AIDS was first recognized as an epidemic in the United States in 1981. At the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, the life expectancy for infected persons was less than 7 years. Today, because of research and new treatment options, people who begin treatment soon after diagnosis can expect to live a nearly normal life span (Cairns, 2010). The HIV/AIDS epidemic was identified through descriptive epidemiology.
Descriptive epidemiologic studies are often conducted as precursors to analytic studies. Epidemiologic concepts are used to gather data to better understand and evaluate health trends in populations. Data such as characteristics of the persons affected, place where an incident occurred, and time of occurrence are collected and analyzed to look for patterns in an effort to identify emerging health problems. In this Discussion, you will apply the epidemiologic concepts of time, place, and person to a specific population health problem.
To prepare:
By tomorrow Wednesday 03/07/18 by 4pm, write a minimum of 550 words in APA format with a minimum of THREE scholarly references from the list of required readings below. Include the level one headers as numbered below:
Post a cohesive response that addresses the following:
1) Evaluate your selected health problem in the population you identified by describing THREE to FIVE characteristics related to person, place, and time.
2) Appraise the data sources you utilized by outlining the strengths and limitations of each.
3) Discuss TWO methods you could use to collect raw data to determine the descriptive epidemiology of your health problem, determine how these methods would influence the completeness of case identification as well as the case definition/diagnostic criteria used.
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