What Is Epidemiological Research?

Clinical epidemiology is the

study of the patterns, causes, and effects of health and disease in patient populations

and the relationships between exposures or treatments and health outcomes.

What is the purpose of epidemiologic research?

The purpose of epidemiology is

to understand what risk factors are associated with a specific disease, and how disease can be prevented in groups of individuals

; due to the observational nature of epidemiology, it cannot provide answers to what caused a disease to a specific individual.

What is an epidemiological research study?

Epidemiology is the

study of health in populations to understand the causes and patterns of health and illness

. The Epidemiology Program, a research division of VA’s Office of Patient Care Services, conducts epidemiology research studies and surveillance (the collection and analysis of data) on the health of Veterans.

What type of research is epidemiology?

By definition, epidemiology is the

study (scientific, systematic, and data-driven) of the distribution

(frequency, pattern) and determinants (causes, risk factors) of health-related states and events (not just diseases) in specified populations (neighborhood, school, city, state, country, global).

What are the 3 major types of epidemiologic studies?

EPIDEMIOLOGIC STUDY DESIGNS

Three major types of epidemiologic studies are

cohort, case-control, and cross-sectional studies

(study designs are discussed in more detail in IOM, 2000). A cohort, or longitudinal, study follows a defined group over time.

What are the 5 main objectives of epidemiology?

In the mid-1980s, five major tasks of epidemiology in public health practice were identified:

public health surveillance, field investigation, analytic studies, evaluation, and linkages

.

What are the 5 W’s of epidemiology?

The difference is that epidemiologists tend to use synonyms for the 5 W’s:

diagnosis or health event (what), person (who), place (where), time (when), and causes, risk factors, and modes of transmission (why/how)

.

What are the four uses of epidemiology?

For

community diagnosis of the presence, nature and distribution of health and disease among the population

, and the dimensions of these in incidence, prevalence, and mortality; taking into account that society is changing and health problems are changing. To study the workings of health services.

Which is the most powerful epidemiological study?

Randomized, controlled clinical trials

are the most powerful designs possible in medical research, but they are often expensive and time-consuming. Well-designed observational studies can provide useful insights on disease causation, even though they do not constitute proof of causes.

What are the 3 main elements of descriptive epidemiology?

In descriptive epidemiology, we

organize and summarize data according to time, place, and person

. These three characteristics are sometimes called the epidemiologic variables.

What are the 4 types of research design?

There are four main types of Quantitative research:

Descriptive, Correlational, Causal-Comparative/Quasi-Experimental, and Experimental Research

. attempts to establish cause- effect relationships among the variables. These types of design are very similar to true experiments, but with some key differences.

What are the two types of epidemiology?

Epidemiologic studies fall into two categories:

experimental and observational

.

What is an example of epidemiology?

The term epidemiology is now widely applied to cover the description and causation of not only epidemic, infectious disease, but of disease in general, including related conditions. Some examples of topics examined through epidemiology include as

high blood pressure, mental illness and obesity

.

What is the best study design?

What is it called when you study diseases?

Often called

“Disease Detectives”

, epidemiologists search for the cause of disease, identify people who are at risk, determine how to control or stop the spread or prevent it from happening again. Physicians, veterinarians, scientists, and other health professionals often train to be “Disease Detectives”.

Is an epidemiologist a doctor?

Are epidemiologists considered medical doctors? No. While epidemiologists study and investigate the causes and sources of diseases in much the same way as medical doctors,

they’re not considered actual physicians

.