Medical Sociology and Healthcare Q&A
Part 1: Epidemiology
Given the above information, what do you think is the role of the epidemiologist in data collection?
The role of the epidemiologist is to collect data on the symptoms, medical history, laboratory tests, and the latest medical treatment. They also review medical records from medical hospitals to understand the prevalence of a diseases and the existing interventions as well as their effectiveness in curing or even preventing the spread of a disease. Once data has been collected, the epidemiologist identifies and develops a hypothesis from the information at hand. The available data enables the epidemiologist to identify common exposures to patients thus he can find the root cause of the problem at hand. He or she can also evaluate the accuracy and sensibility of a hypothesis by visiting participants at their source and even conducting laboratory tests (Scambler, 2012).
What is John Snow’s (1854) influence on the foundation of modern epidemiology?
John Snow promoted the germ theory, positing that that diseases – such as cholera – are a result of activities of microorganisms within the human body. At the time of his discovery of spread of cholera, many of the physicians believed that miasma transmitted diseases. Snow rejected such an assumption and went around talking to people and later discovered that the use of public water was responsible for the spread of cholera in Soho, England. His evidence indicated that a particular pump was responsible for the death of people in the area. This was the first time that a pattern of infection was used to identify a disease thus laying the foundation of today's epidemiology studies (Scambler, 2012). Current epidemiology studies focus on analyzing the incidence and distribution of patterns of infection when determining possible control of diseases among other factors affecting health.
What are the current 10 leading causes of death for all races/ethnicities?
The current 10 leading causes of death in the United States across all races include heart disease, cancer, chronic lower respiratory disease, accidents, stroke, Alzheimer's disease, and diabetes. Others include influenza and pneumonia, kidney disease, and suicide (Scambler, 2012).
What, according to you, are the five most important human diseases associated with stress?
The most important human diseases associated with stress include heart disease, asthma, obesity, diabetes and headaches.
Part 2: Homeostasis—The Importance of Being in Balance
Cannon (1932) has come up with some theories on homeostasis. What are Cannon’s (1932) theories on homeostasis?
First of all, our bodies represent an open system that requires constancy. It implies that mechanisms should be available to maintain the constancy. Secondly, achieving a steady state of conditions requires that tendencies towards change meet with the factors that resist the same change. Third assumption is that a homeostatic state is determined by a regulating system that consists of a myriad cooperating mechanisms acting successively or simultaneously (). Finally, Cannon assumes that homeostasis is a product of self-government rather than random occurrence or chance.
What is the World Health Organization's (WHO's) definition of engineering methods, also known as engineering controls?
According to …
