DESCRIPTIVE EPIDEMIOLOGY

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Preparing Your Descriptive Epidemiology Paper

Select a health problem to explore in detail by using a descriptive epidemiologic approach. For examples of health problems or diseases that might be studied, refer to the lists below.

Search for data on the health problem from one or more of the following sources.
- Morbidity and mortality reports (vital statistics): World Health Organization and international reports; U.S. federal, state, and local annual and periodic reports
- Current literature on the selected health problem
- Reports of special surveys
Assess the problem. Briefly evaluate the agent and the condition. Examine the sources noted above for data on morbidity and mortality in the selected health problem.
Summarize these data on the distribution of the selected health problem according to the following factors using tables, graphs, or other illustrations pertaining to quantitative and qualitative data.
- Host characteristics such as age, gender, marital status, and ethnic group
- Environmental attributes such as geographic areas, social and economic factors, occupation, and education
- Any additional characteristics that contributes to an epidemiologic description of the disease, including biostatistical data.
Summarize any current hypotheses that have been proposed to explain the observed distribution. List the principal gaps in knowledge about the distribution of the health problem.
Propose areas for further epidemiologic research, and critically appraise the data as a whole.