Epidemiology Paper Epidemiology today is considered to be the core science of public health and is described as a constellation of disciplines with a common mission optimal health for the whole community Stanhope Lancaster 2008 Epidemiology has reformed public health and continues to strive for disease prevention and health promotion in communities across the world The population and disease that will be discussed in relation to epidemiology in this paper with be teens and pregnancy This paper will explore the role of epidemiology in HPV and teenagers and the contributing factors This paper will also discuss the definition and purpose of epidemiology epidemiological methods the epidemiological triangle and levels of preventions that is related with HPV and teenagers Epidemiology is importance to public health in relation to disease prevention and health promotion According to Stanhope Lancaster 2008 epidemiology has been defined as the study of the distribution and determinants of health related states or events in specified population and the application of this study to control health problems Epidemiology is not just the study of health in a population it also involves applying the knowledge gained by the studies to community based practice Centers for Disease Control Prevention n d Epidemiology and its findings in relation to prevalence of diseases among certain populations is a vital ingredient to public health and the overall health of communities The purpose of epidemiology is to find the cause of diseases that affect certain populations The findings allow public health officials leaders and nurses to assess and evaluate current conditions identify vulnerable populations and plan for change Human papillomavirus HPV is a ubiquitous human pathogen that causes cervical and other anogenital cancers as well as genital warts and recurrent respiratory papillomatosis Human papillomavirus infection is most common among young sexually active individuals and it is so prevalent that approximately 75 to 80 of sexually active individuals will become infected in their lifetime Weaver 2006 At any given time approximately 20 million people are infected with genital HPV in the United States It is estimated that approximately 75 to 80 of sexually active men and women have been exposed to genital HPV Weaver 2006 Individuals aged 15 to 24 years are at highest risk for genital HPV infection because sexual debut typically occurs in the mid to late teen years and HPV exposure generally occurs shortly thereafter Human papillomavirus types are classified as either oncogenic high risk types which are capable of causing dysplasia and cancer or nononcogenic low risk types which cause low grade mild dysplasia genital warts and respiratory papillomatosis Weaver 2006 The epidemiological triangle is used in identifying causative factors transmission and risk related to infectious diseases Changes in one of the elements of the triangle can influence the occurrence of disease by increasing or decreasing a person s risk for disease Stanhope Lancaster Chapter 11 2012 In this case HPV is the agent teenagers are the host and socioeconomic status could be an example of the environment Descriptive epidemiology is used to identify teenagers and HPV Descriptive epidemiology is the frequency and the distribution of risk factors in populations and enables to assess the extent of a disease and can then provide hypothesis A teenager is between the ages of 13 and 19 and roughly makes up 9 7 of the United States population U S Census Bureau n d HPV is most prominent in teenagers because they are most likely to make their sexual debut during these ages Teenagers are most vulnerable to HPV because of their possible lack of knowledge about STIs sexually transmitted infections There are more programs in schools to educate about STIs and therefore producing teenagers who are more aware of their risks and can make decisions about sexual activity As mentioned before some strains of HPV can lead to oral and cervical cancers and condoms are not completely reliable when it comes to protection Currently options are limited for both prevention of infection of patients with HPV associated disease infection can only be prevented with complete abstinence from all forms of sexual activity because condoms do not offer complete protection from HPV and HPV can be transmitted by nonintromissive sexual activities Weaver 2006 Teaching teenagers about safe sex falls on caregivers which include parents Teenagers who do not have a stable home life whether the parents work all the time or there is only a single parent are more at risk because they less likely to be supervised adequately This is the reason it is so important to educate these teenagers about sex and STIs Abstinence teaching only is not effective when trying to prevent STIs in teenagers According to Life123 2012 While abstinence only education programs have the support of many major national religious groups a comprehensive sex education program in schools has the backing of a wide range of educational and medical organizations Most proponents of comprehensive sex education argue that teens should be encouraged to abstain but should also get information about contraceptives sexually transmitted diseases and how to prevent HIV Family When working with teenagers there must be a level of understanding of what it is like to be in their shoes in this day and age The public believes parents are less involved in their children s lives than in past years Fully 86 of adults believe teenagers today get less supervision than their own generation did Bostrom 2001 If a person is under the age of 18 years they are considered a minor by law Confidentiality is an ethical standard that is a rule of practice set forth by a profession Counseling minors Ethical and legal issues 1998 The American Counseling Association s ACA Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice states When counseling clients who are minors or individuals who are unable to give voluntary informed consent parents or guardians may be included in the counseling process as appropriate Counselors act in the best interest of clients and take measures to safeguard confidentiality American Counseling Association 2012 Although the legal right may belong to the parents or guardian there is an ethical responsibility to obtain the minor s permission before releasing information Before the information is released the counselor should include