Question

Why are rates important in community health?, Why do you think life expectancy, YPLL, DALYs, and HALE are more informative than simple mortality and morbidity rates?, What role do you think epidemiology plays in your life?

Answer 1

Rates enable one to compare outbreaks that occur at different times or in different places.

According to CDC, 2012 rates are particularly useful for comparing disease frequency in different locations, at different times, or among different groups of persons with potentially different sized populations; that is, a rate is a measure of risk.

According to WHO2004,Adding together the Years of Life Lost and Years of Life lived with Disability gives a single-figure estimate of disease burden, called the Disability Adjusted Life Year (or DALY). One DALY represents the loss of one year of life lived in full health.The number of years of life a person loses as a consequence of dying early because of the disease (called YLL, or Years of Life Lost).

YPLL,DALY and HALE serves as a  tool to establish the burden of disease over than mortality and morbidity rates.

Epidemiology is the study of distribution and determinants of health related states or events in a specified populations and application of this study to control health problems.A major role of epidemiology is to provide a clue to changes that take place over time in the health problems presenting in the community.(Gordis2013).In simple terms epidemiology helps in finding the etiology ,extent and prognosis of disease that is disease prevention and health promotion.

1.Centers for disease control and prevention, 2012,Measures of Risk.

2.Leon Gordis,2013, Epidemiology 5th edition,pg. 2,3

3.WHO,2004, Burden of disease