Infectious diseases caused by deadly viruses, parasites, bacteria, and fungi have the potential to cause severe health risks to individuals. Some infectious diseases are communicable, while insects or animals transmit others. Infectious diseases are one of the leading causes of global morbidity and mortality; hence it is essential to gain an understanding of their unique epidemiology, outbreak, incidence, and prevalence. It is also vital to know the role of nurses in epidemiology, the association of the diseases with Healthy People 2020 objectives, common infectious diseases in Los Angeles and the nation, and evidence-based practices of reducing the infections.
Epidemiology, Outbreak, incidence, and Prevalence
Epidemiology is the scientific and systematic study of how frequent a disease occurs, its patterns of distribution across population groups while analyzing its potential causes and risk factors (Nelson & Williams, 2014). The data obtained during the epidemiological investigations are then analyzed and used to plan and evaluate strategies to control the health-related events. People consider an infectious disease an outbreak if more than four cases link to its occurrence. Incidence is the measure of the rate of new cases of a disease in a community at a particular period. Prevalence, on the other hand, refers to the total number of individuals in a population who are experiencing live cases of an illness at a specified point in time.
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The Role of Nursing in Epidemiology
The role played by nurses is essential in designing promotion strategies for public health. Some of the public health strategies aimed at preventing the occurrence of diseases and ensure positive behavior among individuals concerning their health. In case of an occurrence of infectious disease, nurses should develop containment practices that would help stop further transmission within the population.
In clinical epidemiology, nurses are more focused on studying the interface between primary care and the community to ascertain the nature of symptoms and signs of an infectious disease (Hamilton, 2016). In primary care epidemiology, nurses have the responsibility of designing care management and treatment strategies for patients. Other roles played by nurses in epidemiology include providing support and advice to patients, monitoring the health of patients, and collaborate with a team to plan for patient care.
Evaluating Infectious Diseases in Los Angeles, Statewide (California) and Nationally
The county of Los Angeles has continued to struggle with the rise of typhus in recent years. The county has witnessed persistent vermin infestation, which acts as a conduit for spreading the disease. The most prevalent form of the disease is murine typhus, which causes flu-like symptoms to those infected (Braks et al., 2019). About nineteen individuals suffer from typhus in Los Angeles County. Statistics show that the cases of typhus have been increasing consistently in California for over a decade (Braks et al., 2019). Generally, the spread of endemic typhus in several cities in the United States primarily link to unsanitary conditions and overcrowding. Fleas from infected animals such as cats and rats transmit the disease to humans through biting.
Besides typhus, other infectious diseases that are troubling the people of Los Angeles, California, and the United States, in general, are infected with HIV/AIDS. Research findings show that more than one million Americans live with HIV/ AIDS. The number of deaths resulting from HIV/AIDS is estimated to be 5,700 per year (Shannon et al., 2019) . Surprisingly, most individuals in the United States are unaware of their HIV infection because of failure to undergo testing. The cases of measles among various cities in the U.S. have continued to mesmerize health professionals. The rubeola virus causes measles, thus live in the mucus of the infected individuals. Measles is a deadly infection that has symptoms like dry cough, running nose, and sore throat.
Associating the Infectious Diseases with Healthy People 2020 Objectives
Healthy People2020 objectives strive to ensure that American citizens have immediate access to health care services and professionals to address their pressing health needs. Some of the objectives that can help mitigate an outbreak of infectious diseases include clinical preventive services, reproductive and sexual health, and environmental quality objectives ("National Center for Health Statistics," 2019). The environmental quality objective aims at ensuring that Americans live in a clean and healthy environment. By maintaining a clean environment either by cleaning the trash on the streets, the state of California and the federal government will help curb the spread of typhus. The clinical preventive services objective, on the other hand, aims at ensuring that diseases such as HIV/AIDS and measles get an early prevention. For instance, healthcare leaders vaccinate against measles children below the age of five. The reproductive and sexual health objective also ensures that Individuals are also subjected to voluntary screening and testing and given education on reproductive health services to minimize the spread of HIV/AIDS.
Evidence-Based Practices Aimed at Reducing Infectious Diseases
The application of evidence-based medicine integrates research evidence, clinical expertise, and patients’ values not only to limit the spread of infections but also to improve health care practices and preserve the health of community members ( Storr et al., 2017) . The techniques used in evidence-based medicine are patient-centered and ensures that diagnostic tests are accurate and preventive practices adopted are effective and safe. Teamwork and a multi-modal approach is another effective evidence-based practice for infection prevention and control. The teamwork and multi-modal approach involve the creation of a team with key stakeholders from nursing, pharmacy, environmental services, and education for consistent participation. Through teamwork, it becomes easy to identify, implement, and monitor adherence to core preventive strategies. The teamwork and multi-modal approach can be used together with randomized control trials (RCT) to minimize bias when administering treatment and preventive measures of infectious diseases ( Storr et al., 2017) .
In conclusion, nurses must analyze and understand the trend of infectious diseases to come up with the best strategies for reducing their spread. The developed evidence-based approach should align with the Healthy People 2020 objectives to ensure that American people receive protection against the adverse effects of infectious diseases.
References
Barlam, T. F., Cosgrove, S. E., Abbo, L. M., MacDougall, C., Schuetz, A. N., Septimus, E. J., ... & Hamilton, C. W. (2016). Implementing an antibiotic stewardship program: guidelines by the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. Clinical Infectious Diseases , 62 (10), e51-e77.
Braks, M., Giglio, G., Tomassone, L., Sprong, H., & Leslie, T. (2019). Making vector-borne disease surveillance work: New opportunities from the SDG perspectives. Frontiers in veterinary science , 6 , 232.
National Center for Health Statistics. (2019).Healthy People - HP2020 - Leading Health Indicators at a Glance. (2019). Retrieved 19 December, from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/healthy_people/hp2020/hp2020_indicators.htm
Nelson, K. E., & Williams, C. M. (Eds.). (2014). Infectious disease epidemiology: theory and practice . Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
Shannon, C. L., Koussa, M., Lee, S. J., Fournier, J., Abdalian, S. E., Rotheram, M. J., & Klausner, J. D. (2019). Community-Based, Point-of-Care Sexually Transmitted Infection Screening Among High-Risk Adolescents in Los Angeles and New Orleans: Protocol for a Mixed-Methods Study. JMIR research protocols , 8 (3), e10795.
Storr, J., Twyman, A., Zingg, W., Damani, N., Kilpatrick, C., Reilly, J., ... & Allegranzi, B. (2017). Core components for effective infection prevention and control programs: new WHO evidence-based recommendations. Antimicrobial Resistance & Infection Control , 6 (1), 6.
