week 5 epi

 please paraphrase with no AI use or plagiarism

Demie Alaekwe

Week 5 Discussion Post

Incidence and Prevalence

For this week’s discussion, I selected incidence and prevalence as my area of focus. According to Krieger (2024), incidence is an epidemiologic measure of effects used to measure the number of new disease occurrences within a given time frame. On the other hand, prevalence is used to depict the overall number of existing cases (pre-existing and new) within a given timeframe (Krieger, 2024). Incidence is used to identify risk factors and preventative opportunities, while prevalence assesses long-term management by identifying the most appropriate health strategies for combating a disease (Kirby, 2012). Incidence and prevalence are important epidemiological measures of effect since they foster nursing practices by quantifying disease burden and providing evidence-based interventions (Kirby, 2012). For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, these measures allowed nurses to understand the burden of the disease in healthcare settings and provided data for the development of evidence-based intervention (Krieger, 2024). Krieger (2024) also notes that incidence and prevalence strengthen and support nursing practices by helping nurses identify high-risk population groups, prioritize care, and assess the feasibility of preventive measures deployed in various healthcare settings. Therefore, these measures of effect support and strengthen nursing practices by helping nurses implement patient-oriented and evidence-based care.

Examples from Literature

Example 1: Type 2 Diabetes and Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) at Diagnosis

In a study by An et al. (2021), researchers found that 12.3% of patients newly diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) already had chronic kidney disease (CKD) at the time of diagnosis. This high initial prevalence highlights the importance of early screening and intervention. While complications like CKD are common at diagnosis, the study also showed a decline in 5-year complication rates over time, suggesting that with proper disease management, outcomes can significantly improve. These findings emphasize the value of using incidence and prevalence data to guide nursing strategies, promote early detection, and implement timely interventions in T2D care

Example 2: Trends in Type 2 Diabetes in Beijing (2008–2017)

Wang et al. (2021) examined diabetes trends in Beijing and reported that between 2008 and 2017, approximately 2,104,159 individuals were diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. Although the total number of cases rose, the annual percentage of new T2D diagnoses gradually declined, indicating improved disease management and possibly effective public health interventions. This example illustrates how incidence (number of new cases) and prevalence (annual rates) are critical tools in tracking disease trends, evaluating public health policies, and supporting nurses in making informed, population-based care decisions.

Limitations

According to Krieger (2021), failing to consider incidence and prevalence in nursing practice often leads to delayed or missed intervention. For example, in the case of T2D patients, failure to assess the incidence rate and prevalence of CKD is likely to cause a delay in kidney function tests, leading to late-stage detection and making the interventions less effective (An et al., 2021). Moreover, without the measures of effect, nurses may not be able to recognize the efficacy levels of various intervention and prevention strategies. Kirby (2012) posits that failure to consider the incidence and prevalence of a disease is likely to lead to inefficient allocation of resources. For instance, if the nurses are unaware of CKD among T2D patients, they are likely to under-prioritize kidney function tests, leading to severe health complications among the patients (An et al., 2021). Therefore, without prevalence and incidence rates data, healthcare centers may misallocate resources, leading to poor health outcomes.

References

An, J., Nichols, G. A., Qian, L., Munis, M. A., Harrison, T. N., Li, Z. ... & Reynolds, K. (2021). Prevalence and incidence of microvascular and macro-vascular complications over 15 years among patients with incident type 2 diabetes. BMJ Open Diabetes Research and Care, 9(1), e001847. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjdrc-2020-001847Links to an external site.

Kirby, R. S. (2012). Eras in epidemiology: The evolution of ideas and epidemiology and the people's health: Theory and context. Annals of Epidemiology, 22(10), 751-752. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annepidem.2012.07.002Links to an external site.

Krieger, N. (2024). Epidemiology and the people's health. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197695555.001.0001Links to an external site.

Wang, Z., Wu, Y., Wu, J., Wang, M., Wang, X., Wang, J., ... & Hu, Y. (2021). Trends in prevalence and incidence of type 2 diabetes among adults in Beijing, China, from 2008 to 2017. Diabetic Medicine, 38(9), e14487. https://doi.org/10.1111/dme.14487Links to an external site.