DNP 825 How could you better implement descriptive epidemiological methods in your current or future practice?
Epidemiology is widely perceived as a public health discipline within which methodology matters. Methods dominate educational curriculums and influential textbooks. Epidemiological societies regularly feature methods sessions at their national and international meetings and, at least informally, the discipline recognizes the methodologists who study the methods and the practitioners who use them. It follows those epidemiological methods, whether quantitative (for example, meta-analysis or logistic regression) or qualitative (for example, causal inference or narrative reviews), have a theoretical side and a more practical side. Inquiries into the relation between any method as a method and the practice of that method are relatively uncommon. According to Fox et al. (2022), Descriptive epidemiology suffer from lack of acknowledgement in academics and can make things more difficult. We need to utilize descriptive epidemiology as a goal to improve health populations and ensuring equity in health.
Falls are a common cause of injury and pose an increased risk of morbidity, mortality, and lifelong disability. Falls encompass a troublesome definition and can pose challenges in epidemiological studies. Data on fall-related hospital admissions in Portugal remain unpublished. Falls is a great example to use this method. Falls occur frequently and mostly unwitnessed among elderly adults, highlighting the need for more effective and individualized fall prevention. Fall efficacy enhancing programs for nursing home residents should take degree of self-care, chronic diseases, sensory loss, foot injuries, cognitive impairment, living environment, and gender into account.
Fox, M. P., Murray, E. J., Lesko, C. R., & Sealy-Jefferson, S. (2022). On the Need to Revitalize Descriptive Epidemiology. American journal of epidemiology, 191(7), 1174–1179. https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwac056
Zhang, L., Zeng, Y., Weng, C., Yan, J., & Fang, Y. (2019). Epidemiological characteristics and factors influencing falls among elderly adults in long-term care facilities in Xiamen, China. Medicine, 98(8), e14375. https://doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000014375
