Chapter 4 Summary: Epidemiology

     There are many different ways to categorize or classify different diseases and health problems. Diseases classified by organs or organ systems would be diseases such as kidney or heart disease. You could also classify disease by their causative agents, which may be biological, being viral or from bacteria; chemical agents, such as drugs, food additives, or air pollutants; or physical agents, being heat or light, for example.
     There are two categories of disease; communicable and noncommunicable. Communicable diseases are highly contagious and are easily transmitted from one person to another. Examples of a communicable disease would be the common cold, pneumonia, or the syphilis. A noncommunicable disease cannot be transmitted from one person to another. An example or two of a noncommunicable disease would be diabetes or heart disease.
     Another aspect of disease is whether it is acute or chronic. An acute disease that is also communicable would be the common cold because that is considered to last shorter than three months and can be easily transmitted from one person to another. An acute, noncommunicable disease example would be appendicitis because it may be short-lived but cannot be transmitted from one person to another. Chronic diseases last three months or considerably longer. A chronic, communicable disease example is AIDS. A chronic, noncommunicable disease would be something like diabetes or coronary heart disease.
   There are three different levels to preventing such diseases. Primary prevention is the education given to people to avoid the disease or forestall it. Secondary prevention might be the health screenings you get in order to provide prompt treatment, and Tertiary prevention is the retraining, re-educating, and rehabilitation of the patient after the disease is already known.
     The diseases we are concerned about now are not necessarily communicable diseases but have turned to concern on noncommunicable diseases and how to prevent them by changing lifestyle choices. It was also interesting to see the different types of diseases and those that most often caused death.

Chapter 3: Epidemiology

Chapter 3 focused primarily on the overview of epidemiology which is the study of the distribution and determinants of disease and injuries in the community. They want to know the details surrounding the sicknesses. This profession has a lot of mathematical data which makes it interesting. We've never fully understood everything an epidemiologist does until we finished reading this chapter. Also, a lot of definitions were provided in these chapters which we never knew which helped us gain knowledge! Right now I am taking Principles of Epidemiology and I am finding this class to be very interesting.It definitely seems like a busy and interesting profession. Also, we learned a lot about all the different studies and surveys done to collect data. The purpose of the three different types of studies is to determine the cause of injury, disease, and death in the community and to provide information which will assist in controlling current outbreaks and preventing future ones. These studies are a source of primary prevention as a way of educating people to make the right decisions based on the data provided. It was interesting to see how the data charts are broken down and put into terms that are easy to understand.

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Up until the past one hundred years health was dealt with on an emergency basis, however now health issues are being dealt with on a continuous basis. However some obstacles still stand in our way to deal with these health issues. In chapter two the book discusses many organizations that have been developed in order to help aid us in our well-being, these following organizations are a few the book dicussed.

World Health Organization (WHO), is the most profoundly known of these organizations, and their key purpose is the “attainment by all people of the highest possible level of health.” The WHO is guided by two documents, the 11^th General Programme of Work and the United Nations Millennium Declaration.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is responsible for defending the health of all Americans and providing human services for those in need. Programs carried out by HHS include but are not limited to: Administration on Aging (AoA), who tracks the characteristics, circumstances, and needs for older people; as well as develop policies, plans and programs to promote their welfare. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), they focus on developing and applying disease prevention and control, environmental health, and health promotion and educational activities designed to improve the health of people in America.

Quasi-governmental health organizations have some official health responsibilities but operate like voluntary health organizations. One of most well-known quasi-governmental health organization would be the American Red Cross. They serve to provide relief from natural disasters, serve the liaison between members of the active armed forces and their families during emergencies. In addition to those official duties, they also have blood drives, nursing and health services, youth services, and community volunteer services.

We particularly like the fact that there are many programs and agencies in place to help aid our efforts in development of our nation’s health. However we did come to the consensus that with all the organization that are provided it may be confusing about where to start or where to go if you need help. Also it was discussed when you calling one of these agencies it is a hassle to get a hold of the right person.

Chapter 1 Community Health: Yesterday,Today and Tomorrow

Chapter 1 introduced us to the definitions of community and of health and how they come together to form the basis of our class and our understanding of the field. Community being a group of people who have the same interests or common bonds and are working towards a goal. Health being a state of complete physical, mental and social well being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity. There are physical, social and cultural factors that all work in a balance to form a healthy community.

Public health really became prevalent with the Roman Empire.They were the first civilization to use public baths, aqueducts to supply the city with drinking and bathing water, and regulations about buildings that were in disrepair. The spiritual era was the rise of the Catholic church and the belief that disease was punishment for our sins. Not until the Renaissance did people accept the fact that the environment may have something to do with transmission of diseases. The Industrial Revolution brought on horrible living conditions in the home and the workplace as children were forced to work long hours. Since then, we've developed vaccines, health departments and ways to teach people about healthy lifestyles.

We've noticed how far we've come with our healthcare, and how our focus is not on how to overcome communicable diseases anymore (as these issues have been resolved with immunizations, better hygiene and sanitation), but how to make better lifestyle choices.

testing testing!!!

Just seeing if this works.