The complete IHP 330 Module 1 journal on this page, about 350 words, applies case definition, person, place and time, and the count-versus-rate distinction to alpha-gal syndrome using two national reports, and closes with a reflection on surveillance. Searches like "ihp 330 module 1 assignment", "ihp330 module 1 epidemiology journal" and "ihp 330 module 1 example" land here.
The IHP 330 Module 1 example, in full
Module One Journal: Describing a Health Issue Epidemiologically
Journal: A tick bite and a hamburger
I chose alpha-gal syndrome because I had never heard of it until a coworker developed hives hours after eating steak. The condition is an allergic reaction to a sugar molecule found in most mammalian meat, and in the United States it is associated mainly with bites from the lone star tick.
Its case definition shows how much depends on what is being counted. The largest national study defined a suspected case as a person with a positive laboratory test for alpha-gal antibodies. Between 2017 and 2022, 90,018 people had positive results, and the number testing positive each year rose from 13,371 in 2017 to 18,885 in 2021 (Thompson et al., 2023). But a positive antibody test is not the same as the allergy; some people with antibodies have no symptoms, and people who are never tested are never counted. A companion survey found that 42 percent of health care providers had never heard of the condition (Carpenter et al., 2023), so many true cases are likely missing.
By person, the syndrome affects people exposed to ticks, often those who spend time outdoors. By place, suspected cases were concentrated in counties in the southern, midwestern and mid-Atlantic regions, overlapping the lone star tick's range. By time, the counts increased over the study period (Thompson et al., 2023).
The map of counts looks like a map of risk, but it is partly a map of testing. Counties with more allergists, more awareness or more testing will report more cases. To compare places fairly, epidemiologists divide cases by the population at risk over a defined period to calculate a rate (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2012). Even then, a rate built on laboratory tests reflects who gets tested. For a local health department, the first step would be to make the condition reportable with a clinical case definition, so that counts could be turned into rates that mean something. Working through this example showed me that the case definition decides what an epidemic looks like before any number is calculated.
References
Carpenter, A., Drexler, N. A., McCormick, D. W., Thompson, J. M., Kersh, G., Commins, S. P., & Salzer, J. S. (2023). Health care provider knowledge regarding alpha-gal syndrome: United States, March-May 2022. MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 72(30), 809-814. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7230a1
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2012). Principles of epidemiology in public health practice: An introduction to applied epidemiology and biostatistics (3rd ed.). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Thompson, J. M., Carpenter, A., Kersh, G. J., Wachs, T., Commins, S. P., & Salzer, J. S. (2023). Geographic distribution of suspected alpha-gal syndrome cases: United States, January 2017-December 2022. MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 72(30), 815-820. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7230a2
How this IHP 330 Module 1 example is structured
The journal applies three opening concepts in order. It introduces the condition and why it was chosen. It then examines the case definition the national data use and what that definition includes and misses. The third paragraph describes the condition by person, place and time. The fourth explains why the reported counts cannot be read as rates, and the entry ends with a short reflection on what this means for the final project.
Get IHP 330 Module 1 written to your instructions
Tell us the health issue you picked for the IHP 330 Module 1 journal and share the prompt and rubric. You will have an entry describing it epidemiologically within 24 to 48 hours, and the first costs nothing. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Southern New Hampshire University document.
IHP 330 Module 1 questions, answered
What does the IHP 330 Module 1 journal usually ask?
The first journal commonly asks students to research a health issue and begin describing it in epidemiological terms, such as its case definition and its distribution by person, place and time, as practice for elements used later in the final project. Follow the journal prompt for required elements.
What is a case definition?
A case definition is a set of standard criteria for deciding whether a person has a particular disease or condition for public health purposes. It usually combines clinical criteria, laboratory criteria and limits on person, place and time, and it may classify cases as suspected, probable or confirmed.
Why are rates more useful than counts?
A count tells you how many cases occurred, but not how common the condition is, because places and groups differ in population size. A rate divides cases by the population at risk over a period of time, allowing fair comparisons between counties, groups or years.