aide unin? . DEFINING HEALTH AND DISEAS! ‘The test ambitious definition of health is that proposed by WHO in 1948; “health #8 a state. ‘of complete physical, mental, aud social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” pwlenvintapists tend to be staple, x exanyste, “lisense Definitions of heatth states used by lisence absent present" er EPIDEMIOLOGY TRIADTRIANGLE se causation, Known is the Epidemiologic Triad is A traditional model of infectious dis: depicted in Figure below, The triad consists of an extermal-agent, a host and an environment in-which host and agent are brought together, eauising the disease to occur in the host. A vector, an organisn which transmits infection by eonvey/ing’the ‘pathogen from one Host to another without causing disease itself, may be partof the infectious process, + Weould be considered as « model or approach to analyze health and disease + Health is a balance between agent, host and environment + Changes in any one of these three factors may result in loss of health. nship among agent, host and + Epidemiologist ty to tharncterize the rel environment Hoet Environment Epidemiology triangle The Epidemiological Triad is one of the traditional models for depicting disease causation but {sby far the sinyplest of them ill. The triad is used to determine the cause of infectious diseuses, non-infectious diseases, ond accidents or injuries, It considers the interaction between the extemal agent, the susceptible host, and the environment. Used as an epidemiological tool, the wiad is utilized to determine all factors internal and external to the host (the human), making them more susceptible (o the agent (the “genn”), and has been used for decades ta determine specific factors contributing to disease. AGENT ‘The first link in the chain of disease transmission is a disease agent, The discase agent is defined as a substance, living or non living or a force, tangible or intangible, the excessive presence or relative lack of which may initiate or perpetuate a disease process, A disease may have a single agent, but more factors are responsible for disease transmission. Protozoa, Fungus + Biological Agents includes: Virus, Bacter %CS Chossereensics: Infocviny, Pathogenicity, Versienee . Agcuts, Expuanee To Becessve feat, Calls ty, Sound f te. * Chemical Agents, The chemical agents mently affected people worl in am induustey Ze expasute to such chemicals fead te diseasex(furies, sikateide), Contars with shia Jr inhalation (Severe coughing, Cheat pain, Oysoreay, ingestion (Vomiting (by CO poixoringy + Mechanical Agents: Injury, Accidents, Machinery + Nattitional Agents: Deficiency of these agents affecting poople of all yeners and ages. They not only cause specific diveaves but effect the quality of life, Thee are the nal agents: Vitamins Mincrals, Proteins, Carbohydrates, Diseases which are caused by deficiency of the nutritional agent: Osteoporosis (by the deficiency of ea), Anemia (by deficiency of icon), Scurvy (deficiency of vitamin C), Maracas (eficiency of proteins) Social Agents includes the socioeconomic efements stich as the socio class. the financial status, the cultural influence Others: Hormones, Lack of part or structure, Chromosomal factor, Framunological factors THE HOST An infectious disease agent needs a favorable environment to live. The agent must also bave the ability 10 infect a person. The host within the triad refers to the human capable:of developing:the discase. Numerous tisk factors contribute toa human’s exposure, susceptibility. and responise:to-a harmful ag=at_ Exposure to an. agent is influenced by a person’s behavior like sexual practices, hygiene, and other behavioral practices. Exposure is also influenced by biological/genctic factors such as age and gender. Susceptibility and response arc both influenced. by factors like genetic ‘composition, physiological make up, and health behaviors such as nutrition and exercise ‘Once infected, a person may’or may not show signs of sickness. Ifthe infected person does not get sick, he or she is called'a carrier. THE ENVIRONMENT ‘The environment in the part of the epidemiological triad that addresses everything that is external to the host. The environment is made up of many factors: Physical factors such as. by Humidity, Weather, Temperature, Type of landscape Biological factors refer to the animals present in the area that transmit the agent, Socioeconomic factors refer to issues like crowding, poor sanitation, and accessibility to- health care ASSIGNMENT: ENUMERATES TEN IMPORTANCES OF STUDYING EPIDEMIOLOGICAL TRIAD AS A NURSE 10EPIDEMIC DISEAS PCCURRENCE, “Vie letinitions teal a se0 Ae gush of basis fo epidensagieal esearch, where cai 6 “isc” evista be eine nt aneasomnie form Hotere the concept cede to ne sexi an mnenentahle fr hich there ate thiee dimensions. THE ‘cctive dimension looks atthe organic level seas, Uhave a disense) insofar as hat ean % bbe determined from the outside, Its hased on a diagnosis mnde by competent expert (physician, physiotherapist, psychiatrist, elinical paychologis The sulyjcctive dimension looks atthe individual level (illness I fet il. This is about people's klf-pereeption of " their health closely related to quality of life, The thind Jincnsios looks at the social fevel os (¢sichaess" Vac sick), This is about behaviour, for exanyple in the form of sickness on sbsentecism ¢¢ use of healthcare facilites st Level of disease “The smount ofa particular disease that i usually present in a community is referred to as the baseline or endemic level of the disease. This level isnot necessarily the desired level, which say in fact be zero, but rather isthe observed level Inthe absence of intervention and ‘assuming that the Level is nat high enough to deplete the pool of susceptible persons, the izease may continue to occur ot this level indefinitely, Thus, the baseline level is often regarded as the expected level ofthe disease. ‘While some diseases are so rare in 2 given population that a single ease warrants 3 ‘epidemiologic investigation (c-.. rabies, plague, polio), other diseases occur more commonly s0 that only deviations from the norm warrant investigation, ‘Sporadic refers toa disease that occurs infrequently and iregulatly. Endemic refers to the constant presence and/or usual prevalence of a disease or infectious agent in 2 population within a geographic area. si P t s s s Hyperendemic refers to persistent high levels of disease occurrence. Occasionally, the “amount of disease in a community rises above the expected level. Epidemic tefers to an increase, often sudden, inthe number of eases ofa disease above what is normally expected in that population in that are. ‘Outbreak carries the same definition of epidemic, but is often used fora more limited geographic area, (Closter refers to an aggregation of cases grouped in place and time that are suspected to be greater than the number expected, even though the expected number may notbe known, / Pandeimie refers to an epidemic that has spread over several countries or continents, usvally/ affecting a large number of people. Epidemics oceur when an agent and susceptible hosts ate present in adequate numbers, and the agent can be effectively conveyed from a source tothe susceptible hosts. More. | 7; specifically, an epidemic may result from: ‘A recent increase in amount or virulence of the agent, ‘The recent introduction of the agent into a setting where it has not been before, + Aneenhanced mode of transmission so that more susceptible persons are exposed, n r iyat + Tastots that increase entry st exprmire ne nent introuction tbeenogh new pats nf Metecting at Outbreak, An epldemtatagist follows five steps tn detecting art Inte dleave outbreak, Step Us Verifying the eathreak The first step is for make re there +2 am oUthreay. Fae example, if a customer ina restaueant said that hecame sick because of the fd he ‘epidemiologist would have to make sure he di have food poisoning and not an upset stomach. If there ig an outbreak, the emergency room is usually londed with ots of eore with the same complaint. Doctors are very goo at making a diagnenie: in this cave, hess ‘or not the person had food poisoning, Step 2: Wdentication of All People withthe liness ‘The second step is inding all the people With the disease of iffness. Once found, the people describe thei symptoms. A laboratory text ‘may also be done atthe hospital to help igure out the illness or divzace. Mapping where the people were when they began to feel sick also oceurs during step 2. Information on the date and time when people felt sick is aso gathered, At this point, the epidemiologist may be able to igure out what infectious agent is responsible for the outbreak, Step 3: Make a Tentative Explanation for the Outbreak The third step involves making a statement that indicates the possible source of the infection, the likely agent, and the hkely method of spread. ‘Step 4: Compile Evidence The fourth step involves including evidence to support or zot support the statement niade in Step 3. During this time, the scarch continues for addtionat infected people. ‘Step 5: State the Cause of the Outbreak The fifth and final step uses the results of the investigation to make conclusions. These conclusions may cause-a restaurant to close or beach to shut down. Thee purpose of the action is to prevent another outbreak.