For environmental health professionals

1. 9/9/2022 1

2.  Definitions
 Epidemiology of infectious diseases
 Epidemiology of non-infectious diseases
 Community diagnosis
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3.  Surveillance is:
 On-going systematic collection, analysis and
interpretation of data
 Timely dissemination of the resulting
information to those who need them for
action
 Essential for planning, implementation and
evaluation of public health practices.
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4.  Identify cases or events
 Report suspected cases or conditions or
events
 Analyze and interpret findings
 Investigate and confirm suspected cases
 Prepare for response
 Respond to identified event or disease
 Provide feedback or communicate
 Evaluate and improve system
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5.  Integrated disease surveillance is a strategy
for strengthening surveillance, laboratory and
response capacities at each level of the health
system.
 The purpose of integrated disease
surveillance is to reduce morbidity, disability
and mortality through
◦ rational decision making
◦ public health interventions
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6.  Infectious diseases are communicable.
Communicable diseases are transmitted
indirectly or directly
◦ from an infected person to another or
◦ from an animal to man including anthropoids. Eg
TB, HIV/AIDS, malaria, STDs, measles, tetanus,
rabies, cholera, yellow fever, plague, dysentery etc.
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7.  What is an outbreak?
◦ Greater than expected number of cases or an
unusual presentation of cases or an unusual event
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8. Steps in Outbreak Investigation
 Verify existence of outbreak
 Institute immediate control measures
 Prepare for field work (Teams & logistics)
 Confirm diagnosis (Lab diagnosis)
 Define case (Clear case definition)
 Identify cases (Actively find cases)
 Orient data in terms of person, place, time
 Develop & Evaluate hypotheses
 Implement control and prevention measures
 Communicate findings
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9.  Diptheria, scarlet fever, chicken, small pox,
STDs, acute conjunctivitis, trachoma, rabies,
meningitis, whooping cough, yellow fever,
plague, typhoid and paratyphoid, ring worm,
cholera, mumps, poliomyelitis, typhus fever,
T.B, measles, scabies. HIV/AIDS, AFP, NNT,
dysentery, viral hemorrhagic fever (VHF),
leprosy, pandemic H1N1 Aivian influenza,
Ebola.
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10.  Cholera, small pox, yellow fever, plague,
typhus fever, relapsing fever, Ebola.
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11.  Recognition of the infection
 Notification of the diseases
 Identification of the source of infection
 Assessment of the extent of the disease
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12.  Elimination of the reservoir: isolation and
quarantine
 Interruption of transmission. Eg sanitation
barrier
 Protection of the host. Eg immunization.
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13.  Non-infectious diseases are not
communicable, and usually are chronic in
nature.
 These are diseases which are not transmitted
from an infected person to another. Eg
cancer, malnutrition, tumour, asthma, ulcers,
diabetes etc.
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14.  A community diagnosis is a comprehensive
assessment of health status of the
community in relation to its social, physical
and biological environment.
 A community is a cluster of people with at
least one common characteristic (geographic
location, occupation, ethnicity, housing
condition etc)
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15.  To define the existing problems, determine
available resources and set priorities for
planning, implementing and evaluating health
action, by and for the community.
 To help in the identification and
quantification of health problems in a
community.
 To act as a means of examining aggregate
and social statistics in addition to the
knowledge of the local situation, in order to
determine the health needs of community.
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16.  It helps to find the common problems or diseases.
 Brings solutions and sets priorities in the community
 It suppresses public opinions
 It is a pioneer step for betterment of rural community
health
 It is a tool to disclose the hidden problems that are
not visible to the community people
 It helps to access the group of underprivileged people
who are unable to use the available facilities due to
poverty, prevailing discriminations or other reasons
 It helps to find the real problems of the community
people which might not have perceived by them as
problems
 It helps to impart knowledge and attitudes to
turnover people’s problems towards the right
solution
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17. ◦ Making a general diagnosis of the community
◦ Promoting community health
◦ Fostering community participation
◦ Promoting research.
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18.  Identify the target population and the key
leaders
 Apply the ethics procedure
 Have all necessary requirements available
 Have a topic guide at hand
 Use local language
 Involve the community and its leaders
throughout the process
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19.  Initiation; working group design a plan
including resources required e.g human,
financial, transport, scope of diagnosis
 Data collection and analysis; look at variables
such as age, sex religion population size,
 Diagnosis: health status of the community ,
determinants of health and,
 Dissemination; report the findings to the
stakeholders, community.
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20.  Questionnaire (topic guide)
 Trained human resource
 Community mobilization, awareness and
acceptability
 Transport and other facilities; community,
leaders, key informers, cultural beliefs
 Time
 Pens/pencils/paper
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21.  Method:
1. Before the procedure -allocate necessary
requirements
2. Actual procedure-explain the mission of the
visit, conduct the interviews
3. After the procedure- Analyze findings and
report, take actions
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22. THANK YOU!!!!!
Questions
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