Epidemiology is the study of the exposure and health outcome of disease among populations (Lerner, & Lerner, 2007). Epidemiology is an increasingly important part of public health because rapidly increasing human populations provide a fertile breeding ground for microbes (Lerner, & Lerner, 2007). As the planet becomes more crowded and the distances separating communities become smaller, diseases that were once limited by geographic isolation are now able to spread globally (Lerner, & Lerner, 2007). In addition, many viruses and bacteria constantly evolve and shift among populations and across species (Lerner, & Lerner, 2007). Epidemiologists are concerned with the interactions of organisms and their environments (Lerner, & Lerner, 2007). Epidemiologists describe and analyze data to predict the etiology and the prevention methods to protect the population. Epidemiologists evaluate factors such as disease transmissibility from an infected person to a susceptible individual, the number average contacts an infected person has within a susceptible population, confounding variables, and the length of exposure to determine whether a disease outbreak has the potential to spread or become an epidemic or pandemic (Lerner, & Lerner, 2007).
Intended Topic and Question.
Renal replacement therapy (RRT) by hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, and renal transplantation became available in the 1960s; thereafter, a growing number of patients undergoing treatment of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) are in the renal registries (Castledine, Caskey, Tomson, & Ansell, 2011). Dialysis continues to be the most frequent type of RRT because of the low rate of renal transplantation, strictly related to insufficient organ donation to meet demand (Castledine et al., 2011). RTT remains the most important tool for all patients with ESRD in the world (Castledine et al., 2011). The national renal registries list patients in need of RRT.
