Introduction
Surveillance, research, evaluation, the establishment of relationships, and the development of public health policies are among the main tasks of epidemiology. Surveillance involves the collection and analysis of data on the health status of the population; the goal is effective measures for the control and prevention of diseases (Birkhead, Morrow & Pirani, 2020).
Discussion
Research conducted by the public health department may be aimed at identifying the chain of the spread of the disease, and its causes, and assessing the consequences. Research can be part of descriptive epidemiology and include the study of disease. From an epidemiological point of view, an evaluation involves a systematic assessment of the effectiveness of the measures taken to protect public health (Birkhead, Morrow & Pirani, 2020). The development of a public health policy provides information, recommendations, evidence, and the presentation of a position to the authorities. With the help of the obtained data, strategies for combating various diseases are developed and applied; public health policies are emerging and supplemented.
Conclusion
The role of the registered nurse can be demonstrated during the implementation of the epidemiological function of the study. Statistical data are essential to conducting a qualitative analysis of disease causes, distribution chains, and consequences. The nurse can significantly contribute to the collection and systematization of information (Ulrich & Grady, 2022). Registration of patients with characteristic symptoms and data collection on the disease’s clinical course will allow more effective development of measures to combat the disease. Nurses’ observations can be helpful for tracking disease chains when it comes to nosocomial infections (Andersen, 2019). Nurses spend more time with patients than the rest of the medical staff, so they can more quickly track the onset of new symptoms and the effectiveness of ongoing therapy.
References
Andersen, B. M. (2019). Prevention and Control of Infections in Hospitals: Practice and Theory. Springer International Publishing.
Birkhead, G. S., Morrow, C. B., & Pirani, S. (2020). Essentials of Public Health. Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC.
Ulrich, C. M., & Grady, C. (2022). Nurses and COVID-19: Ethical Considerations in Pandemic Care. Springer International Publishing.