A component of your final project is to complete a needs assessment of your target population pertaining to the disease or health issue for which you are proposing the need for an intervention or prevention program. A component of the needs assessment is to describe the disease or health issue to demonstrate the need. Using the epidemiologic triad of people, time, and place, provide a descriptive analysis of the health issue and the impacted population.
For data on your chosen disease or health issue, review the following data sources:
- CDC Wonder
- Community Commons (You have to register for this one, but it is free.)
- U.S. Census Bureau (This is good for demographic data.)
- County Health Rankings
Describe the disease in terms of the following:
- People: Demographics of those impacted (age, race/ethnicity, gender)
- Time: The time period of the data you are reviewing (5–10 years, 1 year, etc.)
- Place: Built environment and other environmental factors
Represent the data in graphs, charts, and tables as relevant, accompanied by a brief explanation.
Describe the morbidity, mortality, incidence, and prevalence rates of the data. Describe differences in terms of age, race/ethnicity, and gender. Which age group, race, or gender seems to be most impacted by the morbidity and mortality data? What were the morbidity and mortality trends for the time period observed (5 or 10 years depending on the data)?