Epidemiology: Module 3 and 4 Homework

Answer

Epidemiology: Module 3 and 4 Homework

Module 3 Homework

1. Mean= X₁+X₂+…+X_n/n

2838+235+…+239/59

The mean of the infection rate in the United States is approximately 7783.

2. The mean of the infection rate calculated above fails to depict accurately the number of cases in each state since it gives a blanket assumption that each state has recorded a case. Some states are yet to report a coronavirus case, therefore, implying that the average depicts the rate in each state is statistically incorrect.

3. The Median value for the Covid-19 infection rate in the United States is 1684

4. Comparing the mean value of the infection rate in the United States to the median, it becomes apparent that the median offers a more accurate depiction of infection for each state. The median is a robust measure; outliers and skewed data have smaller impact on the median. Evaluating the data for the Covid-19 infection rates by state in the United States indicates a skewed distribution and the median provides a better measure of central tendency to cater for the skewness.

5. The interquartile is the difference between the upper and lower limits and it is considered a better measure of spread as it is not affected by outliers. The use of interquartile range is informed by its resistance to outlier, offers ability to identify outliers and whether they are strong or mild.
6. The standard deviation for the data is 21489.06
7. Standard deviation refers to number or value calculated from a sample or population used to tell how measurements are spread out from the average value (mean).

Module 4 Homework

1. Death-to-case ratio refers to the number of deaths attributed to a specific disease during a specific period divided by the number of new cases of same disease reported during the same time interval.

6268/149316*100=4.2

The death-to-case ratio above implies that for every 100 positive cases of Covid-19, 4.2 people results to death.

2. The proportion of males to female death is calculated by

Males/females= 60.8/39.1=1.55

From the proportion of fatalities related to Covid-19, the scope of gender reflects that cases of mortalities are higher among men compared to females. Comparing the proportion of male to females suggests that for every single death of a woman, 1.5 men die.

3. Prevalence rate defines the proportion of persons in a population who have a particular disease or attribute at a specific point in time over a specified period of time. Calculation of prevalence rate involves identification of persons with the specific attribute of measurement and dividing by the population during the same period of time.

Prevalence rate=149,316/19.54million*100,000=764

The prevalence rate for the diseases is 764 per 100000 population; this implies that for every 100000 people the likelihood of positive cases equals 764.

4. Risk or incidence proportion refers to proportion of an initial disease-free populations that develops the disease and are exposed to danger of mortality.

Risk= number of deaths caused by Covid-19/number of Covid-19 new infections

6268/149316= 0.042.

This implies that 4.2% of Covid-19 positive cases results to death.

5. Mortality rate defines the measure of the frequency of occurrence of death in a specific population in a particular time interval.

Death occurring during a given period/size of the population*100000

6268/19.54*100000= 32

The mortality rate due to Covid-19 is 32 per 100000 population.

6. Sex specific mortality rate for the males and females

Males=4291/9.56million*100000= 44.88

Females=2767/9.98million*100000= 27.72

Sex specific mortality rate suggest that more men die from Covid-19 compared to females per 100000 population.

7. Case fatality rate is the proportion of deaths from a certain disease compared to the total number of people diagnosed with same disease in specific time interval.

Case fatality rate= number of cause-specific death/ total number of incidence case*100

6268/149,136*100=4.2

 The case fatality rate for Covid-19 is 4.2%. This implies 4.2% of positive cases associated with the virus results to fatalities/death.

8. Risk ration among men=4291/87165=0.049

                                 Women=2767/71812=0.038

Gender specific risk ratios indicate higher risk of death for men compared to women. The risk of death for men is 4.9% while that of women is 3.8%.

9. The risk ratio for whites=1692.36/47781.12=0.354
10. The risk ration for Hispanics=2131.12/ 43,301.64=1.049
11. The variation in risk ratio between the Whites and the Hispanics emanates from the fact that the Whites have easier access to healthcare compared to the Hispanic population.

10. Prevalence refers to the proportion of population who have a condition or disease at or during a particular time interval while incidence explains the proportion or rate of persons who develop a condition or disease during a specific period of time.
11. It is interesting that the data can open up a whole view of the spread of the disease in society. The data provides information that can possibly define the manner in intervention frameworks against the disease can be developed. It has provide a crucial learning curve in terms of how important data utilization can be in epidemiology. Using data allows development of targeted interventions against a condition depending on the incidence rate based on gender, race and location.