Question

who are the pioneers of epidemiology in public health and what did they do?

Answer 1

Epidemiology and pioneers

Epidemiology is a branch of medicine which investigates all the factors related to the presence or absence of diseases and disorders. Many people contributed in the development of epidemiology as a scientific branch.

HIPPOCRATES was the first epidemiologist , he was greek physician known as father of medicine and the first epidemiologist. He wrote three books entitled Epidemic I, Epidemic III, and On Airs, Waters and Places attempted to describe diseases from a rational aspect rather than the supernatural basis. He identified hot and cold diseases and it's treatments.

THOMAS SYDENHAM is medical graduate wrote book, Observationes Medicae, about his observations about diseases without the influence of traditional theories or medical treatment. one of the major contribution of him was the classification of fever.

JAMES LIND, a scottish surgeon, focused on illnesses in the soldiers who died more to diseases than sword. He observed the effect of time, place, diet and environment on the spread of diseases. He studied the scurvy affected people and encouraged to include limes or lime juices and based on his study british navy included those in the diet.

JOHN SNOW is the father and founder of modern epidemiology, he was a physician in London. Cholera continues to be a problem around the world until now. During the large pandemics of cholera in Europe, John Smith proposed a new hypothesis about cholera transmission. He provided evidence for an association between drinking water and cholera. Snow's work illustrated what is referred to today as a common spread of infectious disease, in which there is a single source for all of the individuals infected.

FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE's work is another example of an early epidemiological study. Nightingale was allocated to took care for wounded soldiers in Crimean War. She kept meticulous records about the illnesses and death during the war. Nightingale published her collected data's analysis in 1858. From her records it was clear that the most soldiers died not from the wounds in the war, whereas from the infectious diseases. Often these infections caused by poor sanitation and lack of access to medical care. Later her findings led to significant changes in the British military's medical system.

JOSEPH LISTER provided early epidemiological evidence to good public health practices in hospital and clinics. In mid 1800s , when the germ theory was not accepted widely, he introduced methods of disinfection and disinfection properties of carbolic acid, also known as phenol. He encouraged his surgeons to use carbolic acid to clean surgical instruments between patients, to wash hands with diluted solution of carbolic acid prior to surgery.

These are the some pioneers in epidemiology.