Introduction
Morbidity and mortality are two critical demographic phenomena studied in epidemiology. Both are important indicators of health status and can be used to develop prevention strategies to increase awareness of disease and reduce adverse health effects.
Morbidity
Morbidity is the disease incidence in a given population over a specific period. This is an indicator of the number of people who have become ill. Different disease categories and age groups can be used to study morbidity. For example, suppose people look at the incidence of infectious diseases in children. In that case, how often children suffer from infectious diseases and which infections are most prevalent can be seen (Diller et al., 2021). This information can be considered for developing prevention strategies, such as vaccination campaigns or hygiene education for children.
Mortality
Mortality is the number of deaths in a given population over some time. This indicates the number of people who have died from disease or other causes. Different categories based on age and other factors can be used to study mortality. For example, if adult cancer mortality is studied, it can be learned how often people die from cancer and which types of cancer are the deadliest (Diller et al., 2021). This data can be used to develop prevention approaches, such as campaigns to prevent smoking or to improve the availability of screening tests for early cancer diagnosis.
Role of Morbidity and Mortality Statistics
Knowledge of morbidity and mortality can help conceive prevention strategies. However, if it is necessary to choose which phenomena are best studied for developing preventive strategies, the choice will depend on the specific situation. For example, people study an epidemic of infectious diseases. In that case, morbidity may be more critical than mortality because it can show how fast the disease is spreading and how many people may be infected in the future. This allows for developing strategies to prevent the spread of infection, such as closing schools and other public places, limiting movement, and conducting hygiene and masking campaigns.
On the other hand, if chronic diseases such as diabetes or cardiovascular disease are studied, mortality may be a more meaningful indicator because it shows how fatal the disease can be and what opportunities people have to reduce the risk of death. This allows for developing prevention and treatment strategies, such as improving access to treatment, reducing harmful habits, and conducting health promotion campaigns.
Examples of the Use of Morbidity and Mortality
The global COVID-19 pandemic is an example of how morbidity and mortality are used to develop prevention strategies. At the commencement of the pandemic, the focus was on the disease, as it showed how fast the virus was spreading and how many people could become infected (Tazerji et al., 2022). This led to the introduction of restraints on movement and social contact, which helped slow the virus’s spread. However, it became clear that COVID-19 could lead to severe complications and deaths, and strategies were developed to treat the severely ill and vaccinate the population.
Another example is the prevention of cardiovascular diseases. Cardiovascular mortality is one of the leading causes of death in the world. The study of mortality from this disease allows for developing strategies for prevention and treatment, such as conducting prevention campaigns, educating people about nutrition and physical activity, reducing smoking, and improving access to treatment.
Conclusion
In conclusion, morbidity and mortality are important health indicators and can be used to develop prevention strategies. However, choosing what is best studied to develop preventive strategies will depend on the specific situation and disease. Both indicators must be examined to obtain a complete picture of health and develop effective prevention strategies.
References
Diller, G., Orwat, S., Lammers, A. E., Radke, R. M., De-Torres-Alba, F., Schmidt, R. A., Marschall, U., Bauer, U. M. M., Enders, D., Bronstein, L., Kaleschke, G., & Baumgartner, H. (2021). Lack of specialist care is associated with increased morbidity and mortality in adult congenital heart disease: A population-based study. European Heart Journal, 42(41), 4241–4248. Web.
Tazerji, S. S., Shahabinejad, F., Tokasi, M., Rad, M. N. S., Khan, M. S., Safdar, M. E., Filipiak, K. J., Szarpak, L., Dzieciatkowski, T., Jurgiel, J., Duarte, P. M., Rahman, M. T., Sobur, M. A., Islam, S., Ahmed, A., Shahen, M., Shehata, A. A., Gharieb, R. M. A., Fawzy, M.,… Rodriguez-Morales, A. J. (2022). Global data analysis and risk factors associated with morbidity and mortality of COVID-19. Gene Reports, 26, 101505. Web.