NURS 8310 Discussion: Epidemiology and Population Health ANSWER
Post a cohesive response that addresses the following:
- Briefly summarize your selected population health problem and describe how principles of epidemiology are being applied—or could be applied—to address the problem.
- Are there any lessons learned from the use of epidemiology in the eradication of smallpox that can be applied to your selected problem?
- Evaluate the cost effectiveness of addressing this health problem at the population level versus the individual level.
Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses.
Briefly Summarized Population Health Problem
Epidemiology deals with the analysis of health-related outbreaks affecting a particular population or the general population, including the incidence, distribution, determinants and possible control the disease. Epidemiology also analyses the health of humans in relation to infection or disease outbreaks to discover the agent, host, and environmental factors that affect health to provide possible ways to irradiate or prevent the outbreak or disease for promotion of the health of the affected population (Noor et al., 2020). Corona Virus also known as COVID 19 is a public health problem in recent time. COVID-19, an infectious respiratory illness caused by the severe acute respiratory disease syndrome–coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2), the coronavirus disease of 2019 is a catastrophic national epidemic with far-reaching consequences for communities, healthcare systems, and the economy around the world. Concerns have recently been raised about a probable link between ethnicity, COVID-19 occurrence, and outcomes, based on early government records (Sun et al., 2020).The government and health organizations such as CDC and WHO got involved with the help of researchers during such outbreaks to protect and improve the health of the population by introduction of vaccination and introduction of possible means of prevention. Lifestyle issues, stress
, effects depressive symptoms in the past year, life satisfaction are other contributing issues affecting recovery as some patients are unable to lose weight or stop smoking while going through this condition (Long & Sheehan, 2010). The outbreaks of measles, Mumps, Rubella, and Smallpox epidemics of the 1960s and 1970s are examples of some outbreaks that affected some populations in past, the government and health agencies were able to control the outbreak, eradicate the disease and save some lives with the introduction of vaccination.
Summarized Epidemiology of COVID19
A cluster of pneumonia with an unknown origin was discovered in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, in December 2019. Several of the first patients went to a wet seafood market, which also sold other wildlife species (Sun et al., 2020). Following virus isolation from human patients and molecular investigation, it was discovered that the pathogen was a new coronavirus (CoV), initially dubbed 2019-nCoV, and the disease was renamed COVID-19 by World Health Organization (WHO), The term SARS-CoV-2 was proposed by a study group of the International Committee on Virus Taxonomy (ICTV), although it has yet to be officially recognized [1]. This new Coronaviridae member is now the seventh known to infect humans. On January 30, 2020, the WHO classified this outbreak as a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) due to the rapid increase in confirmed cases(Sun et al., 2020). The 2019-nCoV has a larger basic reproductive number (R0) than the coronaviruses that cause severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV) and Middle East respiratory disease (MERS-CoV) (MERS-CoV). COVID-19 is characterized by asymptomatic infections that have the ability to spread and maintain the epidemic (Rauf et al., 2020) Lack of vitamin D, poor immune system and preexisting co-morbidities were linked as predisposing factors among some ethnic minority groups. The higher incidence and severity in ethnic minority groups may be associated with socioeconomic, cultural, or lifestyle factors, genetic predisposition, or pathophysiological differences in susceptibility or response to infection (Abuelgasim, et al., 2020). Vaccinations such as Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson, and Johnson’s vaccines have been introduced as a means of protecting people from contracting this virus.
Lesson learned from Epidemiology.
To properly understand the unequal impact of coronavirus on some ethnic groups, more study is needed. Governments should consistently gather data on the ethnicity and results of COVID-19 patients, as well as other patient demographics, as part of an international data set. For regions where the pandemic is still in its early stages, clear information on the relationship between ethnicity and outcome in COVID-19 is critical, as it can aid in the implementation of suitable public health strategies to prevent negative consequences following risk analysis (Abuelgasim, et al., 2020). The effects of this vaccine in relation to the prevention of this disease are still under study. With the help of epidemiological analysis of this disease, disinfectants and environmental sanitization and the use of bleach and sanitizers became the choice of many in other to prevent contracting the deadly virus. The restricted sequence diversity of 2019-nCoV recovered from patients suggests that the interspecies transmission event was recent and that the virus’s source was focused, likely a point-source event (Sun et al., 2020). The rapid expansion and spread of the virus from person to person and the mortality rate led to the introduction of lock-down, quarantine, isolation, and social distancing to reduce transmission due to close-contacts which was considered as a reason for the rapid increase of cluster cases(Sun et al., 2020).
Evaluation of the cost-effectiveness of addressing this health problem at the population level versus the individual level
Apparently, this health problem came at a population level and can basically be handled on a population level due to the rapid spreading, mortality rate, and the cost of care associated with COVID 19 patients(Kaye et al ., 2021). The COVID-19 epidemic is putting international hospitals and healthcare facilities under severe financial strain. The American Hospital Association forecasts that hospitals and health care systems in the United States will lose $202.6 billion in income, or $50.7 billion every month. Furthermore, providing an effective healthcare response to COVID-19 might cost low- and middle-income countries US$52 billion (equal to US$8.60 per person) every four weeks. In the context of the United States’ greatest daily COVID-19 new cases, this load will have an impact on patient care, surgeries, and surgical results (Kaye et al .,2021).
References
Sun, J., He, W. T., Wang, L., Lai, A., Ji, X., Zhai, X., … & Su, S. (2020). COVID-19: epidemiology, evolution, and cross-disciplinary perspectives. Trends in molecular medicine, 26(5), 483-495.
Rauf, A., Abu-Izneid, T., Olatunde, A., Ahmed Khalil, A., Alhumaydhi, F. A., Tufail, T., … & Rengasamy, K. R. (2020). COVID-19 pandemic: epidemiology, etiology, conventional and non-conventional therapies. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(21), 8155.
Long, D. A., & Sheehan, P. (2010). A case study of population health improvement at a Midwest regional hospital employer. Population health management, 13(3), 163-173.
Noor, A. U., Maqbool, F., Bhatti, Z. A., & Khan, A. U. (2020). Epidemiology of CoViD-19 Pandemic: Recovery and mortality ratio around the globe. Pakistan journal of medical sciences, 36(COVID19-S4), S79.
Abuelgasim, E., Saw, L. J., Shirke, M., Zeinah, M., & Harky, A. (2020). COVID-19: Unique public health issues facing Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. Current problems in cardiology, 45(8), 100621
Kaye, A. D., Okeagu, C. N., Pham, A. D., Silva, R. A., Hurley, J. J., Arron, B. L., … & Cornett, E. M. (2021). Economic impact of COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare facilities and systems: International perspectives. Best Practice & Research Clinical Anaesthesiology, 35(3), 293-306..