Epidemiology: Public Health Nursing
Epidemiology
NUR/408
February 2, 2015
Amy Reagan
Epidemiology
Public health nursing involves assessing populations of all kinds, on a regular basis. Vulnerable populations are the most worrisome as they are at higher risks for certain diseases or actions. Teens are among the vulnerable populations due to many different risk factors, such as pregnancy, drug use, and much more. Epidemiology plays a major role in public health nursing by allowing nurses to study and identify risk factors that may be present in a particular vulnerable population, such as teens. This paper will discuss the purpose and definition of epidemiology, different methods used in epidemiology and the epidemiological triangle, and various levels of prevention in relation …show more content…
Descriptive epidemiology aims to describe the who, what, where, when, why, and how of diseases, while analytical epidemiology focuses on why are some affected more than others are and why did it occur (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2012). In studying either of the two, there are many different ways to research and different types of studies that could be used to gather the information. In addition, there are different components in gathering the information, one is straight from the source, another could be gathering information from a health department, or other information routinely gathered. In descriptive epidemiology person, place, and time are also important. The person includes race, sex, age, education, income and marital status (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2012). Place would include areas of prevalence, is it happening in one area or all over with no particular similarities? Many studies in teen pregnancy would show the place to be in rural areas where there is an increase in poverty and lower educational level. Time, in using teen pregnancy, would include ages, is there a certain age teen pregnancy increases or …show more content…
In 2012, there were 305,388 babies born to teen mothers (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). Although this is, a smaller number than previous years it is still an alarming amount. Becoming a teen mother can lead to many hardships for both, the mother and the infant. According to Weiss (2010), babies born to teen mothers are at risk for premature birth, which could lead to hyper activity, respiratory problems, blindness, deafness, mental retardation and possibly death. Children of teens also, show a trend in repeating, by becoming teen mothers themselves, dropping out of high school, and is at a higher risk for other risky behaviors. Many factors are contributed to the amount of teen mothers, most prevalent is teens with a lower socioeconomic status, and being a
NUR/408
February 2, 2015
Amy Reagan
Epidemiology
Public health nursing involves assessing populations of all kinds, on a regular basis. Vulnerable populations are the most worrisome as they are at higher risks for certain diseases or actions. Teens are among the vulnerable populations due to many different risk factors, such as pregnancy, drug use, and much more. Epidemiology plays a major role in public health nursing by allowing nurses to study and identify risk factors that may be present in a particular vulnerable population, such as teens. This paper will discuss the purpose and definition of epidemiology, different methods used in epidemiology and the epidemiological triangle, and various levels of prevention in relation …show more content…
Descriptive epidemiology aims to describe the who, what, where, when, why, and how of diseases, while analytical epidemiology focuses on why are some affected more than others are and why did it occur (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2012). In studying either of the two, there are many different ways to research and different types of studies that could be used to gather the information. In addition, there are different components in gathering the information, one is straight from the source, another could be gathering information from a health department, or other information routinely gathered. In descriptive epidemiology person, place, and time are also important. The person includes race, sex, age, education, income and marital status (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2012). Place would include areas of prevalence, is it happening in one area or all over with no particular similarities? Many studies in teen pregnancy would show the place to be in rural areas where there is an increase in poverty and lower educational level. Time, in using teen pregnancy, would include ages, is there a certain age teen pregnancy increases or …show more content…
In 2012, there were 305,388 babies born to teen mothers (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). Although this is, a smaller number than previous years it is still an alarming amount. Becoming a teen mother can lead to many hardships for both, the mother and the infant. According to Weiss (2010), babies born to teen mothers are at risk for premature birth, which could lead to hyper activity, respiratory problems, blindness, deafness, mental retardation and possibly death. Children of teens also, show a trend in repeating, by becoming teen mothers themselves, dropping out of high school, and is at a higher risk for other risky behaviors. Many factors are contributed to the amount of teen mothers, most prevalent is teens with a lower socioeconomic status, and being a