Epidemiology is
the study of how diseases affect the health and illness of populations
. It aims to act in the interest of public health and preventive medicine. It also important in public health research. It identifies risk factors for disease and suggests best treatment methods in clinical practice.
Why is epidemiology important?
The importance of epidemiology cannot be overstated.
Epidemiology saves lives and improves global, long-term health
. The aims of epidemiology are to prevent and reverse negative health outcomes, and the uses of epidemiology are most important for communities that experience a lot of poverty or instability.
What makes epidemiology interesting?
Epidemiology offers
powerful tools to quantify the degree to which risk factors and humanitarian interventions affect population health in a crisis
. These tools include surveys, surveillance, analysis of programme data, and rapid assessment.
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 makes epidemiology different?
A distinguishing feature of epidemiology is that
it studies health-related conditions at the population level
, as opposed to the individual level. A good way to understand this is to compare the differing approaches of clinicians and epidemiologists to diseases.
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.
What can epidemiology tell us?
What can epidemiology tell us? By
examining the data available it is possible to determine the seriousness and extent of particular health issues
. For example, epidemiologists can determine where a disease originated from, the locales it has spread to and the specific demographic groups it is affecting.
What is the best definition for 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 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 are the two main goals of epidemiology?
The objectives of epidemiology include the following:
to identify the etiology or cause of disease
.
to determine the extent of disease
.
to study the progression of disease
.
What are the main objectives of epidemiology?
The principal aim of epidemiology is
to identify factors related to the occurrence of disease
. Identification of these factors both causal ( causation) and risk factors, enable developing a rational basis for prevention ( epidemiology, prevention).
What are the two types of epidemiology?
Epidemiologic studies fall into two categories:
experimental and observational
.
What are some areas of epidemiology?
- Cancer Epidemiology.
- Cardiovascular Epidemiology.
- Clinical Epidemiology.
- Environmental and Occupational Epidemiology.
- Epidemiologic Methods.
- Epidemiology of Aging.
- Genetic Epidemiology and Statistical Genetics.
- Infectious Disease Epidemiology.
What are the disadvantages of epidemiology?
- The major disadvantage is the huge requirement for resources, viz. …
- Unsuitable for rare diseases.
- Long periods of follow up needed.
- Attrition is a problem as long follow up is required.
What are the limits of epidemiology?
Of course, epidemiology depends on valid data. Often in emergencies, the
ability to gather data is severely restricted
. This may be due to insecurity preventing survey workers from carrying out data collection or lack of resources preventing health workers from submitting surveillance data.
