Question

Illustrate four ways in which epidemiology contributes as the basic science of public health?

Answer 1

Epidimiology is the study of disease in population. Four ways that contribute as the basic signs of public health are discussed below:-

Applied epidemiology is the practice of using epidemiology ways that contribute to protect or improve the public health, which includes investigating communicable and non-communicable outbreaks, mortality and morbidity rates, nutritional status and disease causation. Research on epidemiologic studies is being of extreme importance for a number of reasons in order to prevent or control health problems. For example, in a population if non-communicable disease like diabetes mellitus occurs, by knowing it's risk factors, causes, current modes of therapy and preventive measures are extremely important to understand the disease even better. For communicable disease like tuberculosis, where having enough data on such a disease including its causes, way of transmission and preventive measures are essential to minimize transmission of it.

Mortality rates is a measure of the number of deaths in a particular population, scaled to the size of that population, per unit time whereas morbidity measure the extent of a nations health and provision of health facilities , which helps to investigate the occurrence of illness. Epidemiologists play an integral part in the maintenance of overall public health by measuring the epidemiological surveillance which includes mortality and morbidity rates.

Nutritional epidemiology examines dietary or nutritional factors in relation to disease occurance in populations. It often contribute towards the evidence used in guiding dietary recommendations, also examines the role of nutrition in the etiology of disease, monitores the nutritional status of populations , maintain healthful eating patterns and relationship and synergy between nutrition and physical activity.

Disease causation is a discipline with the goal of identifying causes of disease so that the disease or its consequences might be prevented. One of the disease causation model is epidemiologic triad or triangle for infectious disease. The triad consists of an external agents, a susceptible host and an environment that brings the host and agent together.