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...…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).