Epistemology Role in nursing science today

Epistemology
1. Define descriptive epidemiology and describe its relationship and role in nursing science today
Descriptive epidemiology deals with the rate of recurrence as well as the spreading of a health outcome. It involves delineating the distribution of health-related outcomes and events by individual, place, and time. Imperatively, a descriptive study aids the epidemiologist in becoming cognizant with the data, ascertain the magnitude of the public health issue, attain a description of the public health issue that can be effortlessly conveyed, ascertain the population at greatest risk, and offer indications as to the determining factors of the illness or disease (Merrill, 2015).
Descriptive epidemiology serves numerous specific tasks in the realm of nursing science in the present day. This comprises of pinpointing health problems that are emanating, reporting and monitoring on health associated behaviors and health status in populations. There are also the aspects of setting down the priorities for public health within a population and assessing the conceivable relations between health outcome and risk factors in order to come up with conceivable explanations regarding the potential determining factors of disease. Descriptive epidemiology plays a role in nursing science in regard to providing warnings about the bioterrorism dangers and measuring the efficacy of intervention programs (Timmreck, 2002).
Descriptive epidemiology encompasses three aspects including time, place, and person. Nursing epidemiologists conduct an analysis and compilation of data by time, place, and person and this is required and sought after in the field of nursing science in the present day owing to its numerous benefits. What is more, nursing epidemiologists in the practice of descriptive epidemiology generate a comprehensive account of the health of the populace that can be communicated in diagrams, graphs, and tables (Merrill, 2015).
Time
The contemporary nursing science field extensively explores the utilization of descriptive epidemiology. The incidence of any illness changes with time. Imperatively, a number of changes faced can take place erratically whereas others will take place in a regular manner. Simultaneously, some illnesses, for instance salmonellosis, might come about at any given point in time. In regard to illnesses that take place in particular periods or seasons, nurses and other medical officers can foretell their manifestation and place numerous measures in position (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2014).
Place
The incidence and manifestation of an illness can be delineated by place and more often than not offers awareness and discernment into the magnitude of the illness geographically and the manner in which it varies from a geographical standpoint. When characterization is undertaken in regard to place, it takes into consideration the place of residence for the illness together with other pertinent geographical whereabouts for the illness. Notably, a place can be as huge as an entire region or nation or simply a small location (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2014).
Person
Characterization by person is undertaken by examining data of an individual through the use of different individualities such as inherited ones, for instance, sex and age, the ones that one acquires, biological ones, activities, in addition to conditions they subsist in. It is important to note that age plays a key role in descriptive epidemiology owing to the reason that it normally points out the age of an individual (Naito, 2014).
2. Provide a contemporary example of how descriptive epidemiology is applied in public health nursing.
In essence, epidemiology takes into account the basic science in public health nursing as it is a discipline that elucidates disease and health in populations as compared to an individual level. In addition, epidemiology delineates data actualities, which are pivotal in the inventing of active initiatives for public health to augment community health and preclude illnesses. Within the public health nursing field, descriptive epidemiology renders information that is utilized in directing an action in public health nursing. Epidemiology as a scientific discipline advanced in the area of controlling infectious diseases, through the statistical examination and analysis of predictable data to quantify the risk linked with unhygienic environments. The epidemiology of infectious disease and its applicability into to Public Health is referred to as health protection (Maurer and Smith, 2012).
One of the areas of applicability of epidemiology in public health is genetic epidemiology. In delineation, genetic epidemiology signifies a fusion of epidemiological designs and statistical models that openly take into consideration both genetic and environmental risk factors for illnesses that are complex. This encompasses the illnesses that have some genetic constituent to their etiology (Fallin, Duggal and Beaty, 2016). Comprehending the manner in which genes operate and interrelate and embodying the role of genetic inclination in human illness can aid in the accomplishment of several of the goals and objectives of public health. These goals comprise of enhanced prediction of persons at risk, design and execution of targeted biologic interventions and lastly profounder discernments into the biology of an illness, all of which ought to combine to enhance prevention and intervention approaches (Fallin, Duggal, and Beaty, 2016). Results from genetic epidemiological research can also provide guidance to policy and recommendations for public health services and might aid in modifying and personalizing pharmacological therapies to preclude adverse events and make the most of the efficacy centered on a person’s genetic constitution. Without a doubt, a great deal of the present enthusiasm in genetic epidemiology has been concentrated on the medical notion of personalized medicine; nonetheless, the population-based method of genetic epidemiology is the actual story of the manner in which public health genetics has developed and thrived. In accordance to Fallin, Duggal, and Beaty (2016), sequencing technology is steering the present era of genetic epidemiology. Imperatively, sequencing has the benefit of pinpointing all variants in the region of the genome. This novel stage has been shepherded by two forces including the developments in significant parallel or next-generation sequencing technology that is becoming cost-effective even for sample sizes of the magnitude perceived in epidemiology and the impending finishing of genome-wide association studies analyses.
3. Identify the epidemiology components used to analyze at risk-populations
There are three essential components of epidemiology that are employed in analyzing at-risk populations. These components comprise of disease distribution, disease determinants and disease frequency.
Measure of Disease Frequency
This takes into account the quantification of the existence or occurrence of illness and disease. A population is basically a group of persons with some common or mutual individuality, for instance, sex, age, gender, as well as place or region of residence. Counting the persons with disease is a significant basic measure of disease frequency that is imperative to distinguishing trends or the unexpected occurrence of a problem for instance an endemic. Basic counts of number of diseased persons are also significant to public health policy makers as well as planners for the assessment of the requirement for resources in a population. When measuring disease frequency, rates as well as proportions are largely beneficial when comparing groups, owing to the reason that they relate the number of persons with disease to the size of the population in which they manifest. Prevalence and incidence are the two key measures of disease frequency (MacMahon and Pugh, 1970).
Distribution of Disease
This component takes into account three key questions. These comprise of: Who is getting the disease? Where is the disease occurring? And When is the disease occurring? Epidemiology deals with the frequency as well as pattern of health events in a population. Imperatively, frequency encompasses not just the number of such events in a populace, but also the rate or risk of disease in the population. The rate, which i obtained by the number of events divided by the size of the population, plays a key element to nursing epidemiologists owing to the reason that it permits valid comparisons across various populations.
Determinants of Disease
In using epidemiology, it is conceivable to make a determination of the health of a community simply by counting the number of individuals with particular diseases or poor health conducts who subsist in that area. In this epoch of tight budgets and restricted funds to preclude diseases, public health officials need to know the most ideal and appropriate way of utilizing their limited resources. This component of epidemiology can aid in making these decisions. For instance, if the numbers of persons who smoke in a certain locality is significantly low, limited resources might be more common, for instance, low levels of physical activity. What is more, it takes into account the determination of the causes of disease. Through the use of proper scientific approaches, epidemiology is beneficial in comprehending the adverse impacts that smoking has on numerous diseases, comprising of heart disease and lung cancer (Macera, Shaffer and Shaffer, 2013).



References
Fallin, M. D., Duggal, P., & Beaty, T. H. (2016). Genetic Epidemiology and Public Health: The Evolution From Theory to Technology. American journal of epidemiology, 183(5), 387-393.
Macera, C. A., Shaffer, R., & Shaffer, P. M. (2013). Introduction to epidemiology: Distribution and determinants of disease. New York: Cengage Learning.
MacMahon, B., & Pugh, T. F. (1970). Epidemiology: principles and methods. Epidemiology: principles and methods.
Maurer, F. A., & Smith, C. M. (2012). Community/public health nursing practice: Health for families and populations. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Merrill, R. M. (2015). Introduction to epidemiology. New Jersey: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
Naito, M. (2014). Utilization and application of public health data in descriptive epidemiology. Journal of epidemiology, 24(6), 435-436.
Stanhope, M., Lancaster, J., Jessup-Falcioni, H., & Viverais-Dresler, G. (2014). Community health nursing in Canada. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Timmreck, T. C. (2002). An introduction to epidemiology. New Jersey: Jones & Bartlett Learning.