Week 5: Epidemiologic Measures Used in Population Health In an effort to reduce costs, the city of Flint, Michigan switched sources for its water supply, in 2014, from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department to the Flint River (Kennedy, 2016). Less than a month after the switch, residents began complaining about the color, taste, and […]
To start, you canWeek 5: Epidemiologic Measures Used in Population
Health
In an effort to reduce costs, the city of Flint, Michigan switched sources for its water supply, in 2014, from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department to the Flint River (Kennedy, 2016). Less than a month after the switch, residents
began complaining about the color, taste, and smell of the water; 10 months later, the first case of elevated lead levels in drinking water were found in a resident’s home. The city had not tested the Flint River water prior to the switch to see if it had a corrosive effect on the system’s aging lead pipes, resulting in a disastrous public health crisis and state of emergency for Flint. The incidence of elevated blood lead levels in children under the age of 5 increased from 2.4% before the supply switch to 4.9% after, with some neighborhoods experiencing much higher increases (Hanna-Attisha et al., 2016). As demonstrated by this example, researchers can determine the level of exposure by comparing rates of incidence before and after the change. This can inform later research on risk and effects and lead to development of
interventions for the affected population.
This week, you will continue to examine the association between risk factors and the etiology of disease by investigating measures of morbidity and mortality and measures of effect (incidence, prevalence, risk ratio/relative risk, and odds ratio). You will also consider how nurses use epidemiologic measures to make informed healthcare practice decisions.
References:
Hanna-Attisha, M., LaChance, J., Sadler, R. C., & Schnepp, A. C. (2016). Elevated blood lead levels in children associated with the Flint drinking water crisis: A
spatial analysis of risk and public health response. American Journal of Public Health, 106(2), 283-290. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2015.303003
Kennedy, M. (2016, April 20). Lead-laced water in Flint: A step-by-step look at the makings of a crisis. The Two–Way. https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-
way/2016/04/20/465545378/lead-laced-water-in-flint-a-step-by-step-look-at-the-makings-of-a-crisis
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