MPH 504 Epidemiology (Module 2 CBT) - Essay Example

Crude Death Rates and Age- specific Death Rates Calculation Crude Death Rate = Number of deaths in an area/ Average population in an area Eagle Rock CountySan Marino CountyBaldwin County14,800/2,862,8194,600/399,5432,309/253,6225. 16 per 100011. 5 per 10009.1 per 1000Age-specific Death rate = Number of deaths in a specific age group in an area/Average population in a specific age group in areaEagle Rock CountySan Marino CountyBaldwin County65 years65 years65 years4,955/2,490,6539,845/372,166900/299,6583,700/99,8851,854/250,765455/2,8571.

9 per 100026 per 10003 per 100037 per 10007 per 1000159 per 1000According to the crude death rate calculated San Marino County appears to have the greatest need for funding as it shows the highest crude death rate. However examination of age-specific death rates brings to notice that Baldwin County shows the highest death rates in both the age groups namely 65 years.Crude death rate is calculated simply by dividing the total number of deaths in the area of concern by the total population in the area.

However valid comparisons of death from these data to determine the health of a population can be made only when factors affecting the risk of death are given due consideration. One of the most important factors affecting the risk of death being age, calculating crude death rates can produce misleading results when comparing mortality rates in areas having different age groups of population. The number of deaths increases with age and this result in an increased crude death rate in a predominantly elderly population than in a younger population.

Comparing the age-specific death rates of the same areas could show that the risk of death within the same age group of population might be higher in the area with the lower crude death rate.Hence comparing the age-specific death rate of the three different counties clearly indicates a considerably higher death rate in the