Glossary Terms
Active surveillance involves actively seeking out information about health events
Case report is a research design that provides a detailed description of the clinical aspects of a particular health-related state or event from a single person within their real-life context
Case-control study is an observational research design aimed at investigating the potential causes of a health outcome by comparing two groups
Case-fatality rate is an important measure in epidemiology that quantifies the severity of a disease by calculating the proportion of individuals diagnosed with a specific condition who die from it within a specified period
Cohort studies are equivalent to a “video” of the health status of a given population. In cohort studies, data on exposure(s) is collected at baseline and participants are followed-up over time to monitor the presence or absence of outcomes
Communicable diseases are a disease that arises from transmission of a specific infectious agent to a susceptible host
Contagious disease is disease that is caused by direct and indirect contact with a pathogenic or
infectious agent
Cross-sectional study is an observational research design in which data are collected at the individual level
Cumulative incidence is the proportion of a population that develops a disease over a specified
Diagnosis is the act or process of determining or identifying the nature and cause of disease or injury
Ecological study is an observational research design that describes measures (e.g., rates, percentages, etc.) of exposures and outcome(s) at the population or group level rather than at the individual level
Incidence is a key epidemiological measure that quantifies the occurrence of new cases of a disease or health condition in a population over a specified period
Incidence rate accounts for varying time periods of risk among individuals and is particularly individuals with subclinical forms of the disease
Infection is the entry and development of infectious agents in people, animals, or the environment
Infectious disease is a disease caused by an infectious agent, which includes, bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, and other organisms
Intervention studies, also referred to as experimental studies, are designed to evaluate the effect of specific interventions on health outcomes
Microorganisms or Agents are disease producing, also called pathogens
Modes of transport is how a pathogen moves from reservoir to susceptible host
Portal of entry is the opening where the pathogen may enter
Reservoir/Source is the environment/habitat where a pathogen can live and multiply
Susceptible host is the person at-risk: patient or healthcare worker
Morbidity refers to the occurrence of disease, injury, or disability in a population and indicates how widespread or common a health condition is.
Mortality rate is a key measure in epidemiology that quantifies the frequency of deaths in a specific population during a certain period
Parasitic diseases are an infection caused by a parasite
Passive surveillance, data is reported by healthcare providers or laboratories to public health officials
Period prevalence is the proportion of a population that has a specific disease or condition
Point prevalence is the proportion of a population that has a specific disease or condition at a population and indicates how widespread or common a health condition is
Portal of Exit is how the pathogen exits or leaves reservoir
Primary prevention consists of measures aimed at a susceptible population or individual
Screening of disease involves using tests or procedures to identify disease or health concerns
Secondary prevention emphasizes early disease detection, and it targets healthy appearing
Sensitivity is the percentage of people with the disease who are correctly identified by the test single point in time
Specificity is the percentage of people without the disease who are correctly excluded by the test
Tertiary prevention targets both the clinical symptoms or screening results and outcome stages of a disease
