Epidemiological Process - Essay Example

 According to the movie, disease characteristics and population’s differential health are vital for research in Brazilian communities. For example, epidemiological studies in maternal-child health usually address neonatal and perinatal health that illustrates that there are significant relationships between health and disease processes such as nutrition, sanitation, medical care, and income among other health-disease processes (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2012). According to this movie, the unexpected appearance of a strange and fatal pediatric disease, in 1980, alarmed Brazilian public health officials and clinicians to conduct a number of collaborative assessments to find the cause of this disease.

Collaboration between the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Sao Paulo Secretariat identified that this disease is caused by Haemophilus influenza bio group bacteremia, and eventually named Brazilian purpuric fever (BPF) (Bailes et al. 1990).The movie also presents that the current epidemiological process is based on the concept of risk (Bailes et al. 1990). Medical practitioners, including nurses, are advised to focus on health risk factors to ensure quality health care delivery to the community.

In addition, they should primarily focus on risk factors that affect a large number of people like a whole community, but not on an individual. This will enhance the establishment of health service priorities and approximate preventive care needs and community health promotion. For instance, the application of the risk focus in maternal-child health is related to the fact that children and mothers are more prone to changes in their health status (Bailes et al. 1990). The movie also identifies that State’s roles in delivering quality health care have been affected by the challenge to reconstruct health care models, which are capable of identifying medium and long term needs (Bailes et al. 1990). Detection of medium and long term needs to ensure righteous and equitable development in all Brazilian communities.

Stanhope and Lancaster (2012) also identify that actions and rules implemented by States are social policies that include health policies, which are implemented through services and programs that are offered to population groups. Government policies like social policies are vital in addressing problems such as health needs and vulnerabilities. In summary, I have learned that the epidemiological process involves the same steps as those in other health professions. For example, when investing the occurrence of a new disease outbreak, the epidemiological process will be as follows: identify the condition, collect and analyze data, established the desired outcome, list appropriate interventions by making a selection, implement the program, collect the data again, and see if it worked if implemented.