waste of time and money. Furthermore, undue stress may result for individu-
als who are made aware of untreatable conditions. Additionally, this can also
result in needless false positives and false negatives. Best practice dictates that
nurses must be wise consumers of limited healthcare resources and sensitive
to the impact that misdiagnosis can have on the mental health of individuals.
Indicate whether the following statements are true or false.- There are no ethical concerns related to false negatives.
- It would be unethical to expose individuals to asbestos to study the disease pattern.
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE 8-9
How did you do? 1. F; 2. T» Epidemiology is the study of disease in populations.
» Nurses use epidemiology to determine the effect and extent of disease in a population.
» The epidemiologic triangle consists of agent, environment, and host. If one relationship can
be altered, then the spread of infectious disease can be reduced or eliminated.
» Direct transmission of disease is spread person to person. Indirect transmission involves vehicles,
vectors, and airborne mechanisms.
» When an outbreak occurs, nurses can follow seven steps to prevent further transmission of
disease.
» Epidemiology involves data that can be expressed as count data, ratios, proportions, and rates.
» Prevalence is the number of existing cases of disease that are present in the population.
» Incidence is the number of new cases of disease that are present in the population during a
specified period of time.
» Characteristics of person, place, and time are important when examining the distribution of
disease in a population.
» Descriptive study designs include case reports, ecologic studies, and cross-sectional studies.
» Epidemiologic data are often expressed in a 2 × 2 data table that compares the exposed and
unexposed cases to whether or not a disease is present.
» Epidemiologists calculate a PR when they use a cross-sectional study design.
» Analytic study designs include case-control studies, cohort studies, and intervention studies.RAPID REVIEW
8.9 Keeping It Ethical 217