Epidemiology is understanding the factors that contribute to health-related events and utilizing this knowledge to mitigate or eradicate certain health problems. As technological and scientific innovation improves, the second epidemiologic transition entails longer life expectancy due to creation of cures, holistic treatments, and mindset of nutritious eating. As humans live longer, the mortality and fertility rates decrease. With the advancement in drug development, infectious diseases, such as smallpox and pneumonia, are less worrisome. However, as infectious diseases decline, there is a gradual increase in chronic diseases, including diabetes, heart failure, and cancer. Moreover, improvements in hygiene and sanitation might have a secondary effect on immune system. Researchers argue that “lack of exposure to pathogens and symbiotic microorganisms increase allergies and other diseases.” This second epidemiological transition has occurred in most Western European countries, the United States, and some developed countries. However, third-world and even some developed countries are still going through the second transition. Harper and Armelagos state “countries that have stark social inequalities, such as China, Brazil, and Russia, have diseases associated with the first and second epidemiological transitions.” Moreover, Guatemala, El Salvador, Kenya, and the Democratic Republic of Congo “never benefited from the …show more content…
Numerous studies indicate the surge of antibiotic-resistant diseases resulting from older strains of diseases. These bacteria have learned how to combat antibiotics. Furthermore, there is a “rapid emergence of new diseases.” Along with resurgence of older diseases, chronic diseases are still prominent. Scientists are working to find cures for chronic and degenerative diseases and resolve past
Mathers, C. D. (2006). Projections of Global Mortality and Burden of Disease from 2002 to 2030. Public Library of Science Medicine, 3(11), e442. April 16, 2011. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0030442
Over the years the medical field has always brought together the best and brightest of society to help those in need. From treating cancer and delivering babies to dealing with heart attacks, doctors have developed technology and improved techniques. The three main changes that are revolutionizing the medical field are electronic medical records, population science and clinical practice guidelines. With the help of advanced technology, evaluating patients on a large scale, physicians can view the death rate, life span and frequency of illness throughout the healthcare system. On an individual basis, the physician can treat an illness. When the entire population is considered, issues such as cancer, heart disease and obesity are a growing epidemic. Population science can allow doctors to look at a large-scale way to cure these epidemics instead of just treating an individual. These epidemiological principles are now used in clinical studies to make the evaluation of medical procedures better.
Many epidemiologists usually specialize in one or more of the following specific fields, substance abuse, bioterrorism, injury, chronic disease, or infectious disease. Even though there are different areas of epidemiology that are available, they all
Antibiotics in general remain one of the cornerstones of modern health care, acting as something we all hope to rely on when we get sick. We could very easily name the 20th century “the age of the antibiotics,” and it would be well deserved, indeed. But time is running out. In its first global report on antimicrobial resistance, released Wednesday, the WHO says “a post-antibiotic era – in which common infections and minor injuries can kill – is a very real possibility for the 21st century.this serious threat is no longer a prediction for the future, it is happening right now in every region of the world and has the potential to affect anyone, of any age, in any country. Antibiotic resistance.is not a major threat to public health.”
Throughout history disease has run rampant taking many lives with every passing day. Finding a cure or even just a tool in the battle has been the main focus of scientist throughout time. This focus is what brought us the discovery of antibiotics. Over the years antibiotics have been misused by patients, over prescribed by physicians and have led to resistant strains of bacteria.
Bacteria that is resistant to antibiotics is a major problem not only for the United States, but worldwide. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2012) the cause is related to “widespread overuse, as well as inappropriate use, of antibiotics that is fueling antibiotic resistance”. According to World Health Organization (2013) resistance is a global concern for several reasons; it impedes the control of infectious diseases, increases healthcare costs, and the death rate for patients with resistant bacterial infections is twice of those with non-resistant bacterial infections.
Resistance arises from mutations that are not under the control of humans, but the evolution of bacteria has been sped along by the overexposure of antibiotics to both people and animals. The number of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria in an area is closely related to the frequency that antibiotics that are prescribed (Todar, 2012). Patients often unnecessarily demand antibiotics to treat common colds or simple illnesses that are not caused by bacteria. Instead, these infections are caused by viruses which, unlike bacteria, are unaffected by antibiotics. Incorrect diagnosis can also lead patients to using unnecessary antibiotics, which can sometimes be even more dangerous than otherwise left untreated. Besides the fact that antibiotics kill off beneficial bacteria in the intestines, misuse of antibiotics provides an opportunity ...
This turn of events presents us with an alarming problem. Strains of bacteria that are resistant to all prescribed antibiotics are beginning to appear. As a result, diseases such as tuberculosis and penicillin-resistant gonorrhea are reemerging on a worldwide scale (1). Resistance first appears in a population of bacteria through conditions that favor its selection. When an antibiotic attacks a group of bacteria, cells that are highly susceptible to the medicine will die.
...gests that the world is on the brink of a post-antibiotic era as the numbers of resistant bacteria (superbugs) proliferate, and there is an increase in the number of people dying from previously treatable infections. Todar, (n.d) states, “Society could be faced with previously treatable diseases that have become again untreatable, as in the days before antibiotics were developed.”
During the past years, interest in health care promotion has increased which has been due to several factors. The major factor has been the shift from infectious diseases to chronic diseases that has been named as world killers. This shift is commonly referred to as epidemiologic transition characterized by low birthrates, ageing population and increased cost of health care (Kessler et al, 2013). Previously, disease identification was easy but with changing times and the emergence of many diseases, characteristics of diseases hav...
The idea that the successful health and health care organizations of the future will be those that can simultaneously deliver excellent quality of care, at lower total costs, while improving the health of their population is taking hold. The main reason is because of health disparities. Addressing health disparities has been a challenge for decades. This paper will look at a few examples of how health disparities can affect individually, thus the overall health of a population.
Epidemiology Epidemiology is the study of the demographics of disease processes, including the study of epidemics and other diseases that are common enough to allow statistical tools to be applied. It is an important supporting branch of medicine, helping to find the causes of diseases and ways of prevention. It can, using statistical methods such as large-scale population studies, prove or disprove treatment hypotheses. Another major use of epidemiology is to identify risk factors for diseases. Epidemiological studies generally focus on large groups of people and relate to a target population that can be identified.
In the 1960s, doctors in the United States predicted that infectious diseases were in decline. US surgeon Dr. William H. Stewart told the nation that it had already seen most of the frontiers in the field of contagious disease. Epidemiology seemed destined to become a scientific backwater (Karlen 1995, 3). Although people thought that this particular field was gradually dying, it wasn’t. A lot more of it was destined to come. By the late 1980s, it became clear that people’s initial belief of infectious diseases declining needed to be qualified, as a host of new diseases emerged to infect human beings (Smallman & Brown, 2011).With the current trends, the epidemics and pandemics we have faced have created a very chaotic and unreliable future for mankind. As of today, it has really been difficult to prevent global epidemics and pandemics. Although the cases may be different from one state to another, the challenges we all face are all interconnected in this globalized world.
Public health can be defined as the approach to medicine that is concerned with the health of the community as a whole. It is about protecting and improving the health of families and communities through promotion of healthy lifestyles, research for disease, injury prevention, detection, and control of infectious diseases. Many factors contribute to a long life, including demographics, socioeconomics, genetics, environment, and behaviors. It is important to assess these factors when attempting to increase life expectancy and improve health status, because positive health practices result in higher life expectancies and better health.
Epidemiology is the study of how frequently diseases rise in different groups of the public and why they happen, evidence gathered via epidemiologists is used to plan and gauge disease prevalence to help evaluate strategies to prevent illness (BMJ, 2017).