Reference no: EM132370021

The epidemiology of chronic disease is complex. Most often the distribution of a chronic disease does not follow a simple pattern. The determinants of a chronic disease are multifactorial involving biology and genetics, individual behavior, health policy and service, and social factors including built environment.

The built environment consists of man-made physical and social structures including housing, workplaces, transportation, and neighborhood (e.g., sidewalks, recreation area, and crime). You spend nearly all of your time in the built environment. Emerging evidence increasingly recognizes that your built environment affects your health (Srinivasan, O'Fallon, & Dearry, 2003). However, a causal relationship between the built environment and specific chronic disease is sometimes difficult to ascertain.

For this Discussion, focus on the impact of built environment on chronic diseases. Select a chronic disease and analyze the epidemiology of the disease in your community. Then consider different theories and think about which one might best describe the occurrence of the chronic disease you selected. Finally, think about an initiative focusing on the built environment that might reduce the burden of the disease in your community.

With these thoughts in mind:

Post a descriptive epidemiology of the chronic disease you selected. Then briefly describe the social determinants of the disease in your community. Describe a theory that best explains the occurrence of this disease. Based on that theory, explain an initiative related to built environment that you might implement to reduce the burden of the disease in your community. Provide a rationale using scholarly resources.