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Epidemiological (and other observational) studies typically highlight associations between exposures and outcomes, rather than causation. While some consider this a limitation of observational research, epidemiological models of causation (e.g. Bradford Hill criteria) [7] contend that an entire body of evidence is needed before determining if an association is truly causal. [8]
Epidemiology has its limits at the point where an inference is made that the relationship between an agent and a disease is causal (general causation) and where the magnitude of excess risk attributed to the agent has been determined; that is, epidemiology addresses whether an agent can cause disease, not whether an agent did cause a specific ...
The Plague of Athens (c. 1652 –1654) by Michiel Sweerts, illustrating the devastating epidemic that struck Athens in 430 BC, as described by the historian Thucydides. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines epidemic broadly: "Epidemic refers to an increase, often sudden, in the number of cases of a disease above what is normally expected in that population in ...
In particular, public health surveillance programs can: [49] serve as an early warning system for impending public health emergencies; document the impact of an intervention, or track progress towards specified goals; and; monitor and clarify the epidemiology of health problems, allow priorities to be set, and inform health policy and strategies.
Although health research is often organized by disease categories or organ systems, theoretical development in social epidemiology is typically organized around factors that influence health (i.e., health determinants rather than health outcomes). Many social factors are thought to be relevant for a wide range of health domains.
Environmental epidemiology research can inform government policy change, risk management activities, and development of environmental standards. Vulnerability is the summation of all risk and protective factors that ultimately determine whether an individual or subpopulation experiences adverse health outcomes when an exposure to an ...
Practitioners can come from several different educational streams: many begin as registered nurses, some as public health inspectors (environmental health officers), some as medical technologists (particularly in clinical microbiology), and some as physicians (typically infectious disease specialists). Specialized training in infection control ...
Clinical epidemiology is a subfield of epidemiology specifically focused on issues relevant to clinical medicine. The term was first introduced by virologist John R. Paul in his presidential address to the American Society for Clinical Investigation in 1938. [1] [2] It is sometimes referred to as "the basic science of clinical medicine". [3]