This discussion board is aligned with the module objective “Demonstrate communit

This discussion board is aligned with the module objective “Demonstrate community assessments and apply the principles of epidemiology.” As part of the discussion you will:
Review the concepts of epidemiology in disease control and prevention.
Post a thoughtful response to at least two (2) other colleagues’ initial postings. Responses to colleagues should be supportive and helpful (examples of an acceptable comment are: “This is interesting – in my practice, we treated or resolved (diagnosis or issue) with (x, y, z meds, theory, management principle) and according to the literature…” and add supportive reference. Avoid comments such as “I agree” or “good comment.”
Peer #1: Epidemiology is a concept that has been around for centuries, and many developments have been made along the way. These concepts are used in nursing practice daily in relation to disease control and prevention, and how they are spread throughout comminutes. Epidemiologists review individuals who were exposed to a disease, and look at differences between populations such as their age, socioeconomic status, and even gender (McEwen et al., 2024). While investigating these factors, epidemiologists might also look at other factors such as time and distribution of the disease throughout the community (McEwen et al., 2024). Additionally, epidemiologists look at the complicated relationships between the host and environmental characteristics known as the epidemiological triangle (McEwen et al., 2024). In terms of disease control, nurses and epidemiologists look at risk factors that can affect patients, and subsequently study the morbidity and mortality rates for their exposed risks. We also look at disease prevention and use primary prevention prior to the disease affecting our specific patient or patient population (McEwen et al., 2024). Types of primary prevention that are commonly used are health promotion and specific protection (McEwen et al., 2024). When these are used, nurses can understand how the disease rates in an areas are increased or even reduced, getting to root of the issue and protecting patients from illness (McEwen et al., 2024).
From the module one assignment, one of my nursing diagnoses was related to obesity. Obesity relates to the ecosocial epidemiology paradigm because the obesity epidemic is a bigger issue than just not eating the right foods. To elaborate, obesity can stem from ones socioeconomic status, and their access to healthy foods and exercise. In fact, it is shown that black race, male sex, Hispanic ethnicity, and households <185% of the poverty line were found to have higher prevalence of obesity (Fleming et al., 2021). This relates to ecosocial epidemiology as it challenges the nurse and team of epidemiologists to look at the issue at a more individualized level, such as looking at each subset of individuals and looking delving deeper to see the root cause and social determinants of health specific to them (McEwen et al., 2024). All in all, epidemiology is a practice that is used in nursing on a daily basis. References Fleming, M. A., Kane, W. J., Meneveau, M. O., Ballantyne, C. C., & Levin, D. E. (2021). Foodinsecurity and obesity in US adolescents: A population-based analysis. Childhood Obesity, 17(2), 110–115. https://doi.org/10.1089/chi.2020.0158 Nies, M. A., McEwen, M. (2024). Community/public health nursing: Promoting the health of populations (8th ed.). St. Louis: Elsevier Saunders Peer#2: Epidemiology is especially important in disease control and prevention. Epidemiology assesses the incidence and distribution of diseases and infections and uses this information in an attempt to control current and prevent future diseases and infections. Epidemiologists collect data about a disease or infection to try to identify the different characteristics between ill individuals and healthy individuals. Some of this data includes comparing ill and healthy individuals’ age, gender, socioeconomic status, health status, living environment, and time factors of disease development (Nies & McEwen, 2019). A current real-world example of this would be the flu. Factors like age, health status, and time factors have been discovered about the flu. Young children, elderly adults and individuals with preexisting health conditions are at greater risk of getting the flu and may have more severe cases than middle aged healthy adults. There is also a flu season that has been defined, where cases are known to be much higher during this time of the year. Knowing all this information allows us to take precautions like getting vaccines, hand washing, wearing masks, and avoiding ill individuals. These precautions help to prevent and control the flu infection. Ecosocial epidemiology focuses more on socioenvironmental factors related to a disease or infection. The diagnosis I chose for the assignment was, increased risk of infant death rates among infants less than one year old related to lack of adequate transportation, lack of access to primary care providers and lack of knowledge on prenatal care as evidenced by an increased rate of mothers who did not receive prenatal care until after the first trimester. Women reported some reasons for delaying prenatal care which included, the cost of prenatal services, the distance required to travel to appointments, poor transportation services to get to appointments, lack of community health programs, and lack of support from spouse and other family members (Warri & George, 2020). Some of the socioenvironmental factors that relate to this diagnosis are income status, family status, partner status, and the community you live in. To control and prevent late prenatal care among women it is important to assess the factors contributing to that, and work towards improving early prenatal care rates by providing options for women in all situations. References Nies, M. A. & McEwen, M. (2019). Community/Public Health Nursing: Promoting the Health of Populations. (7th ed.) Elsevier. Warri, D & George, A. (2020). Perceptions of pregnant women of reasons for late initiation of antenatal care: A qualitative interview study. BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth, 20(1). 1-12. 10.1186/s12884-020-2746-0