The following article will be published in consecutive form, which deals with the topic of the epidemic that left behind millions of victims, and the science of epidemiology from historical, biological, and medical approaches. Epidemiology: Epidemic: It is an outbreak of disease that spreads rapidly in the community, state, or country. The spread of infection and scale of impact is not as vast as a pandemic. It is often limited to the geographical bounds of a community, country, or continent, and an epidemic is caused by pathogens like bacteria, viruses, and other harmful parasites. It is often limited to a country or a few countries at a time. As a result, the death toll is relatively less. Epidemic impact is not as vast as that of a pandemic. The immunity level in people against an epidemic is relatively high, e.g., Malaria, typhoid fever, measles, etc. Pandemic: It is an outbreak of disease that spreads across the globe within a very short period. The spread of infection and scale of impact is relatively vast. It can affect the entire world population. Mostly it is caused by a new strain of a pathogen. Since it occurs globally, the death toll is quite high. The impact is large scale and disrupts the social and economic balance. There is little to no immunity in this case, e.g. HIV Infection, AIDS, COVID-19. Uses of epidemiology: Epidemiology Methods: The field of epidemiology uses an organized approach to problem solving by: References:
Shaimaa Shahab
Research Assistant at Faculty of Nursing
Is the foundation of public health and is defined as the study of the distribution and determinants of diseases or disorders within groups of people, and the development of knowledge on how to prevent and control them. It is the heart of the sciences of disease. It is a branch of public health that studies disease and how it spreads among human and non-human populations, with the goal of using that understanding to help control and limit the spread of pathogens and other negative health problems. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) define epidemiology as “the method used to find the causes of health outcomes and diseases in populations.
1. In historical study of the health of the community and of the rise and fall of diseases in the population, useful ‘projections’ into the future may also be possible.
2. 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, considering that society is changing, and health problems are changing.
3. To study the workings of health services, this begins with the determination of needs and resources, proceeds to the analysis of services in action and, finally, attempts to appraise. Such studies can be comparative between various populations.
4. To estimate, from the common experience, the individual’s chances and risks of disease.
5. To help complete the clinical picture by including all types of cases in proportion, by relating clinical disease to the sub-clinical by observing secular changes in the character of disease, and its picture in other countries.
6. Identifying syndromes from the distribution of clinical phenomena among sections of the population.
7. In the search for causes of health and disease, starting with the discovery of groups with high and low rates, studying these differences in relation to differences in ways of living, and, where possible, testing these notions in the actual practice among populations.
Epidemiology studies may be:
• Descriptive, organizing data by time, place, and person.
• Analytic, incorporating a case-control or cohort study.
• Experimental.
(1) confirming the existence of an epidemic and verifying the diagnosis;
(2) developing a case definition and collating data on cases;
(3) analyzing data by time, place, and person;
(4) developing a hypothesis;
(5) conducting further studies if necessary;
(6) developing and implementing control and prevention measures;
(7) preparing and distributing a public report; and
(8) evaluating control and preventive measures.
• Saracci, R. Epidemiology: A Very Short Introduction.
• Beaglehole, R., Bonita, R., & Kjellström, T. Basic Epidemiology.
• Olsen, J., Christensen, K., & Murray, J. An Introduction to Epidemiology for Health Professionals.
