EPIDEMIOLOGICAL DATA.docx
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Epidemiological data is vital for health planning and interventions to control diseases like malaria, as demonstrated by a national study in India that analyzed incidence and mortality rates. The findings highlighted an increase in malaria cases, thus informing the implementation of effective measures such as mass drug administration and community education initiatives. As a doctor in India, this data helps to apply health policies and strategies at various levels to combat malaria effectively.
EPIDEMIOLOGICAL DATA.docx
- 1. How do you use epidemiological data to support your role and can you include a brief example of this? In response to Vicky’s post, I agree that epidemiology is a discipline that has evolved with changing societies (Frerot et al., 2018). It focuses on the health of human populations by preventing diseases and injuries, concentrating on health promotion, and checking the effectiveness of the health programs introduced to improve the population’s health (Haveman-Nies et al., 2011). According to Majumder and Jena (2018), epidemiological data helps government and health care systems to plan health interventions to prevent and control communicable and non-communicable diseases. Healthcare and policymakers use statistical data in the form of charts and graphs to comprehend and assess the onset and spread of infectious diseases (Majumder, Jena, 2017). For instance, to demonstrate the prevalence, incidence, and mortality of malaria in India over the years, national research was conducted in 2020. Samples were taken from all 624 districts of India and categorized into low, moderate, and high groups. Two districts covering 200,000 persons each, were selected from the three categories using the probability proportional to size. Forty trained healthcare workers per district performed active surveillance. The epidemiological data on the incidence and mortality of malaria were collected from laboratories, doctors, and hospitals in government and private sectors. They were used to analyze the burden of the disease. The results showed an increase in malaria incidence, which serves as a gold standard for following the success of the malaria elimination campaign in India (Kumar et al., 2020). As a practicing doctor in India, this epidemiological data enables me to apply policies and interventions with the help of the National Vector Borne Disease Control Program and National Framework for Malaria Elimination at the state and district level to control the disease and introduce necessary interventions (Rathore et
- 2. al., 2017). Initiatives such as mass drug administrations, malaria interventions like insecticides, educating rural communities about the disease through folk theatre, print media in their native language, doctor to patient communication (Ghosh et al., 2006), and workshops conducted at the village level were introduced (Patil, Tiwari, Ghosh, 2011). Thus, these epidemiological data and the strategies introduced can have a massive impact on curtailing the disease. REFERENCES FOR SUMMATIVE DISCUSSION 2 Frerot, M., Lefebvre, A., Aho, S., Callier, P., Astruc, K., Glele, L.S.A. (2018). What is epidemiology? Changing definitions of epidemiology 1978-2017. PLOS ONE, 13(12):e0208442. Haveman-Nies, A., Jansen, S.C., van Oers, J.A.M., van ‘t Veer, P. (2011). Epidemiology in public health practice. American Journal of Epidemiology, 174(7), pp.871-872 Majumder, A., Jena, A. (2018). Epidemiological data play an important role in healthcare policymaking. Project Guru. Available from: https://www.projectguru.in/epidemiological-data-play-important-role-healthcare- policy-making/ Kumar, A, Chaturvedi, HK, Mohanty, AK, Sharma, SK, Malhotra, MS, Pandey, A (2020). Surveillance based estimation of burden of malaria in India, 2015-2016, 19(156). Rathore, M.H., Runyon, J., Haque, T. (2017). Emerging infectious diseases. Advances in Pediatrics, 64, pp.27-71. Ghosh, SK, Patil, RR, Tiwari, SN, Dash, AP (2006). A community based health education for bioenvironmental control of malaria through folk theatre in rural India. Malaria Journal, 5:123.
- 3. Patil, RR, Tiwari, SN, Ghosh, SK (2011). Assessing perceptions about malaria among the elected representatives in rural India. Tropical Parasitology, 1(2), pp.83-87.