Formally, the risk was defined as the percentage of healthy individuals who contract a certain disease over a defined period of observation. However, due to advancements in epidemiological studies, risk has been defined in simpler terms. According to epidemiology, the risk is the likelihood of an event occurring, for instance, that a person will fall sick or die in a given period of time or age. The paper discusses risks and how epidemiological studies impact interventions to reduce risks.
The studies related to epidemiology impact interventions that can significantly assist in reducing risk factors because it changes the manner in which things are done. Risk factors describe human beings who have sedative lives which can easily lead to obesity and this puts them at extremely high risks of contracting diseases. An epidemiological study was conducted in the UK to determine whether obesity and lack of physical exercise are the main causes of stroke and coronary heart disease (CHD) related events in Herefordshire (Syed et.al, 2012). The study aimed at preventing these events from happening so the researchers focused on methods of preventing the risks. The study found that by reducing the risk factors by a margin of 5% annually has a significant impact on lowering the incidences of stroke and CHD (Syed et.al, 2012). The study was conducted over a period of 5 years and the researchers came to the conclusion that living sedative lives without doing physical exercises increases the risks of contracting chronic diseases such as stroke and CHD. Therefore, the best evidence is to encourage patients to be involved in regular physical exercises as this helps in lowering the risks.
In conclusion, healthcare professionals using evidence-based medications always endeavor to promote the best and most accessible care for patients (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt, 2015). It is the responsibility for the service providers especially the nurses to educate the patients on the ways of promoting a healthy lifestyle. Employing the use of evidence-based practices and epidemiological studies significantly assists healthcare professionals to accomplish this task.
