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What is Epidemiology?
The definition of Epidemiology is the study of
the distribution and determinants of health-related states in
specified populations, and the application of this study to
control health problems.
A look at the key words will help
illuminate the meaning:
Study -Epidemiology is the basic
science of public health. It's a highly quantitative
discipline based on principles of statistics and research
methodologies.
Distribution - Epidemiologists study
the distribution of frequencies and patterns of health events
within groups in a population. To do this, they use
descriptive epidemiology, which characterizes health events in
terms of time, place, and person.
Determinants - Epidemiologists also
attempt to search for causes or factors that are associated
with increased risk or probability of disease. This type of
epidemiology, where we move from questions of "who," "what,"
"where," and "when" and start trying to answer "how" and
"why," is referred to as analytical epidemiology.
Health-related states - Although
infectious diseases were clearly the focus of much of the
early epidemiological work, this is no longer true.
Epidemiology as it is practiced today is applied to the whole
spectrum of health-related events, which includes chronic
disease, environmental problems, behavioral problems, and
injuries in addition to infectious disease.
Populations - One of the most important
distinguishing characteristics of epidemiology is that it
deals with groups of people rather than with individual
patients.
Control - although epidemiology can be
used simply as an analytical tool for studying diseases and
their determinants, it serves a more active role.
Epidemiological data steers public health decision making and
aids in developing and evaluating interventions to control and
prevent health problems. This is the primary function of
applied, or field, epidemiology.
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