Homework Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 10

Homework - Assignment Example In investigating measles, epidemiologists embark on various strategic steps that enable them get information. The first step involves preparation for fieldwork which entails getting the right tools, information, support staff and personal arrangements. Information on measles can be obtained from past research on measles (Bystrianyk & Humphries 2013). Additionally, the epidemiologist should delegate roles and responsibilities at this stage of investigations. The second step should be verification that the suspected disease exists. Besides, they ought to establish whether there is an outbreak. Before one decides whether there is an outbreak, they have to determine the number of cases that are expected from an area within a given period. In determining the number of measles cases, for example, one can use the health department surveillance records. The records help determine whether there is an epidemic. Finally, it is important to do a prior investigation before the actual investigatio n. For instance, one can visit some of the children suffering from measles and try to get useful information on the condition. Furthermore, once the data has been collected a measles outbreak should be characterized by place, time and person. This technique is called descriptive epidemiology because it deals with description of what has occurred in the population being studied. This description allows one to evaluate the outbreak on what is recognized about the disease and develop causal hypothesis. These hypotheses can be tested using analytic epidemiology technology. Analytic epidemiology has two components, the cohort and the case-control studies. They help in developing the null and the alternative hypotheses. These hypotheses are later refined after carrying out additional epidemiological study (Bystrianyk & Humphries 2013). The hypothesis is then used in developing and implementing of control measures. Finally, the findings should be presented to bodies such as the