Vocab
The term for the very first case or instance of a patient coming to the attention of health authorities
This historical figure is known as the "father of epidemiology"
Who is John Snow
Researchers identify 50,000 troops who served in the first Gulf War and 50,000 troops who served elsewhere, then track both groups for 10 years to see who develops cancer
What is a cohort study
This measure is calculated by dividing the risk of disease in an exposed group by the risk of disease in an unexposed group
What is the risk ratio (relative risk)
The stage of subclinical disease extending from the time of exposure to onset of chronic disease symptoms
This measure of spread is calculated as the sum of the squares of deviations from the mean, divided by the number of observations minus one
What is variance
This historical figure wrote the traditional rules used to prove that a specific organism causes a particular infectious disease
Who is Robert Koch
In response to an outbreak of a rare purple rash, "Disease Detectives" identify 20 sick children and 40 healthy children from the same school to compare their past soap usage
What is a case-control study
Because a case−control study often lacks a total population denominator, investigators use this "cross−product" ratio (ad/bc) to approximate risk
What is the odds ratio
Name three of the six core functions of epidemiology in public health (remember back to week 2!)
What are public health surveillance, field investigation, analytic studies, evaluation, linkages, and policy development
The measure of the frequency of new cases of a disease specifically among the contacts of known patient
What is secondary attack rate
This historical figure suggested disease might be influenced by environmental and host factors, rather than the supernatural
Who is Hippocrates
A representative sample of city residents is telephoned and asked two questions simultaneously: "Do you currently have heart disease?" and "How many hours a week do you exercise?"
What is a cross-sectional study
This value represents the probability that the observed association between an exposure and a disease occurred by pure chance alone, assuming there is actually no relationship between them
What is a p-value
This Bradford Hill Criterion states that the exposure MUST occur before the disease develops
What is temporality
The fraction calculated by dividing the number of new cases of a health condition by the size of the population at the start of the study period
This historical figure systematically collected and analyzed Britain's mortality statistics and is known as the "father of modern vital statistics and surveillance"
Who is William Farr
To test a new rotavirus vaccine, an investigator randomly assigns infants to receive either the real vaccine or a saltwater placebo and monitors them for side effects
What is an experimental study
For a frequency distribution that is severely skewed, such as a list of incubation periods, this measure of central location is preferred over the arithmetic mean
What is the median
Name three attributes of a good surveillance system.
What are timeliness, specificity, simplicity, acceptability, sensitivity, representativeness, and flexibility
The type of transmission that involves an inanimate object (water, blood, food, etc) that transmits an infectious microorganism
What is vehicleborne transmission
This historical figure proposed the "Causal Pies" model and how different "component causes" come together to create a "sufficient cause" for disease to occur
Who is Kenneth Rothman
Following a 150-person school dance, an epidemiologist obtains a full list of attendees and interviews everyone to see who ate the pizza and who later developed vomiting
What is a cohort study
This measure is calculated by dividing the number of new cases of a disease during a specific period by the size of the population at the start of that period
What is the attack rate
This Bradford Hill Criterion examines whether similar results have been found by different researchers, in different places, at different times
What is consistency