ECOLOGICAL

MODELOF THE
AN EXPLANATION
DISEASE CAUSATION
USING A MODEL
I. HYPOTHESIS:
(What caused the disease based from an educated guess) HOST
♦ intrinsic characteristics that influence an individual’s
exposure, susceptibility, or response to a causative agent
AGENT
♦ a factor whose presence caused a disease or
one whose absence causes disease
ENVIRONMENT
♦ are extrinsic factors which affect the agent and
the opportunity for exposure
II. PREDISPOSING FACTORS:
A. HOST
♦ Intrinsic factors that influence an individual’s
exposure, susceptibility, or response to a causative
agent.

1. Genetic
● Patterns in the way traits are handed down from
parents to offspring.
● Heart disease, Asthma, Cancer and Diabetes
 II. PREDISPOSING
A. HOST
FACTORS:
2. Age
3. Occupation / Marital Status
♦ Chemical Agents, Noise, Radiation, Temperature
4. Family Size
5. Religion
♦ Jehovah’s witness - No BT;
♦ 7th day Adventist – Vegetarian
♦ Cervical CA & HIV has high incidence in religion
which prohibits circumcision
II. PREDISPOSING FACTORS:

A.
HOST
6. Ethnicity / Race / Customs
7. Human Behaviour
♦ Stressful
8. Social Class Membership
♦ social categories like upper, middle, and lower
classes
♦ Diet; housing; working conditions; exposure to
pollution; organization of the urban landscape
II. PREDISPOSING

A.
FACTORS:

HOST
9. Intercurrent Infection
♦ A disease that intervenes during the course of
another disease.
♦ Pneumonia intercurrent with aids; H1N1;
Influenza infection Intercurrent with pregnancy
10.Personality Type
♦ TYPE A Personality are impatient,
achievement- oriented
♦ TYPE B Personality are easy-going, relaxed
individuals
II. PREDISPOSING
A. HOST
FACTORS:

11. Sex / Gender

12. Resistance / Immune Status
♦ Ability of the body to protect itself against infection
13. Family Background
14. Lifestyle / Habit
♦ Smoking, Drug Abuse, Sexual Practices and
Contraception, Eating Habits
B. AGENT
♦ Extrinsic factor whose presence caused a disease or
one whose absence causes disease
1. NUTRITIVE
♦ Carbohydrates, Vitamins, Fat, Proteins, Mineral,
Water, Sodium
2. CHEMICAL
♦ Pollutants, Pesticides, Cosmetics, Heavy Metals,
Toxic Chemicals
3. PHYSICAL
♦ Dust, Climate, Cold, Heat, Radiation
B. AGENT
4. INFECTIOUS AGENT
♦ Virus, Bacteria, Ricketsia, Fungi,
Protozoa, Metazoa, Parasites
5. MECHANICAL
♦ Collision, Traffic Accident, Falling
Down, Machinery
6. PSYCHOSOCIAL
 C. ENVIRONMENT
♦ Are extrinsic factors which affect the agent and the
opportunity for exposure
1. PHYSICAL
a. Geography
♦ The physical features of the earth and its atmosphere,
and of human activity as it affects and is affected by
these, including the distribution of populations and
resources, land use, and industries.
b. Humidity
♦ The amount of water vapor in the atmosphere or a gas
C.
1.
ENVIRONMENT
c. Geology
PHYSICAL
♦ The materials that make up the earth, the features and
structures found on earth
d. Air Quality
♦ Degree to which the ambient air is pollution-free
(smoke, dust, smog)
e. Weather/ Climate / Temperature
♦ Weather is the day-to-day state of the atmosphere, a
combination of temperature, humidity, precipitation,
cloudiness, visibility, and wind.
♦ Climate tells us how the atmosphere tends to behave
over longer periods of time
f. Noise
g. Occupational Setting
C. ENVIRONMENT

2. BIOLOGIC (RESERVOIR)
a. People
♦ Viruses, toxins, accidents, or flaws in a person's
genetic makeup; Stress or specific behaviors
b. Flora (Plant Life)
♦ Pollens, poison ivy
c. Food
♦ Salmonella (food), cholera (Water)
d. Fauna (Animal Life)
♦ flies, mosquitoes, ticks, rodents
C. ENVIRONMENT

2. BIOLOGIC (RESERVOIR)
e. Population
♦ Groups of individuals belonging to the same species that
live in the same region at the same time.
f. Density
♦ A measure of the number of organisms that make up a
population in a defined area
C. ENVIRONMENT

3. SOCIO-ECONOMIC
a. Urban Overcrowding g. Education
b. Workplace Contain the Agent h. Poverty
c. Economic growth i. Culture
d. Social Disruptions j. Fertility
e. Availability of Health k. Sanitation
Services l. Income
f. Tensions & Pressures
 III. THE
MODEL
A. LEVER
♦ Emphasizes
The Agent
 B. THE
♦ WHEEL
Physic
Genetic Predisposition al

♦ De-emphasizes the Hos

t
agent GC
Biologi
c

mic
ono
ec
cio-
So
C. THE WEB
♦ Some disease never depend upon single isolated
cause rather it develops from a chain of
causation in which each link itself is a result of
complex interaction of preceding events. These
chain of causation which may be the fraction of
the whole complex is known as web of causation.
♦ De-emphasizes The Agent
 IV.
ANALYSIS
● Justify the model
● Justify the predisposing factors with
references

V.CONCLUSION AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
● Is the hypothesis correct? Why?
● Nursing actions so that recuperation of
patient will be facilitated
THANK YOU