Displaced people living in refugee camps face a variety of health risks. Contami
ID: 2926613 • Letter: D
Question
Displaced people living in refugee camps face a variety of health risks. Contaminated water, undernutrition, sexual assaults, infectious disease outbreaks, depression, and many more health problems are highly prevalent. Children in refugee camps are particularly vulnerable.
Consider Refugee Camp X, where public health workers are maintaining high quality data records on the displaced population they serve. On January 1st of 2011 there were 140 children aged 0-12 years living in Refugee Camp X. Of these children, 80 had already been diagnosed with undernutrition by January 1st and remined in that category throughout the month. 20 additional children were diagnosed with undernutrition over the course of the month of January. The total population of children 0-12 years of age did not change in number over the month of January 2011. In other words, there were no deaths and no new additions to this group.
Although there were no diagnosed measles cases in this population at the beginning of January 2011, a measles outbreak occurred during the month of January. There were 72 measles cases in this group by the end of January 2011. 67 of these cases occurred among those 80 children who had already been diagnosed with undernutrition by January 1st 2011.
1. What was the incidence rate of undernutrition among children aged 0-12 years in Refugee Camp X during the month of January 2011? (give your answer as a percent and round to the nearest whole number)
2. What was the incidence rate of measles among children aged 0-12 years in Refugee Camp X during the month of January 2011? (give your answer as a percent and round to the nearest whole number)
3.
What was the incidence rate of measles among children aged 0-12 years in Refugee Camp X who entered the month of January 2011 already undernourished? (give your answer as a percent and round to the nearest whole number)
Explanation / Answer
Incidence rate = number of new cases reported / population at risk
1. Incidence rate of under nutrition children .. during the month of January 2011
= (20/(140-80)) * 100% = 33%
Note : we have taken population at risk = 140-80 as 80 children were already diagnosed as undernourished
2.Incidence rate of measles among the children .... during the month of January 2011
= (72/140)* 100% = 51%
3. Incidence rate of measles...... during the month of January who were already undernourished
= (67/80)* 100% = 84%