Using EBPH to Define and Quantify the Extent of the Public Health Problem

Note: Your response and comments to this assignment will be laying the foundation for work that you will later complete as part of your final project.

A clear statement of the issue provides a concrete basis for a priority setting process that is objective. This then leads to better program planning, intervention, and evaluation. A fully articulated issue statement includes a complete description of the problem, potential solutions, data sources, and health-related outcomes.

In order to provide a complete description of the problem, the problem must first be quantified. In quantifying the health issue or disease, the application of the appropriate epidemiologic tools is necessary to obtain the answers to certain questions while conducting the community assessment. The community assessment should include the health condition or risk factor being considered, the population affected, the size and scope of the problem, prevention opportunities, and potential stakeholders. This task requires basic epidemiologic skills to obtain additional information about the frequency of the health condition or risk factor in an affected population.

Going back to the public health problem, issue, situation, or concern that you identified for W1: Assignment 3, develop a concise statement of your problem. Your statement must be clear and well-articulated including a description of the problem, potential solutions, data sources, and health-related outcomes. The statement of your problem will serve as the basis for your research purpose or objective, which will be very critical in the application of the evidence-based process which in turn leads to better program planning, program intervention, and program evaluation.

1. Using the strategies and concepts taught for searching, evaluating, and retrieving EBPH resources and literature, identify five (5) peer-reviewed scientific articles that have information that can be used to quantify the extent of your specific health problem. Ensure that none of these articles are more than 5 years old.
2. Analyze and evaluate three of the five articles with the intent to quantify the extent of your public health problem, issue, situation, or concern.
3. Use the epidemiology training and skills from the course to assess the extent of your problem, issue, situation, or concern by identifying and evaluating the risk factors being considered, the population affected, the size and scope of the problem, prevention opportunities, and potential stakeholders from the three peer-reviewed articles.
4. As part of quantifying the public health condition, obtain the disease rates of the health condition or risk factor in an affected population and analyze and assess if any patterns of the disease exist within subgroups of the defined population.

Utilize assigned and suggested weekly readings, the South University online library, the Internet readings, and references to search, evaluate, and retrieve relevant EBPH literature to support your responses.

Submission Details:

Discussion: Assessing Muscoskeletal Pain

The body is constantly sending signals about its health. One of the most easily recognized signals is pain. Musculoskeletal conditions comprise one of the leading causes of severe long-term pain in patients. The musculoskeletal system is an elaborate system of interconnected levers that provide the body with support and mobility. Because of the interconnectedness of the musculoskeletal system, identifying the causes of pain can be challenging. Accurately interpreting the cause of musculoskeletal pain requires an assessment process informed by patient history and physical exams.In this Discussion, you will consider case studies that describe abnormal findings in patients seen in a clinical setting.

Note: By Day 1 of this week, your Instructor will have assigned you to one of the following specific case studies for this Discussion. Also, your Discussion post should be in the Episodic/Focused SOAP Note format, rather than the traditional narrative style Discussion posting format. Refer to Chapter 2 of the Sullivan text and the Episodic/Focused SOAP Template in the Week 5 Learning Resources for guidance. Remember that all Episodic/Focused SOAP notes have specific data included in every patient case.

Case 1: Back Pain

A 42-year-old male reports pain in his lower back for the past month. The pain sometimes radiates to his left leg. In determining the cause of the back pain, based on your knowledge of anatomy, what nerve roots might be involved? How would you test for each of them? What other symptoms need to be explored? What are your differential diagnoses for acute low back pain? Consider the possible origins using the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) guidelines as a framework. What physical examination will you perform? What special maneuvers will you perform?