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Introduction To Epidemiology

This document provides an overview of an introductory epidemiology course. The objectives are to define epidemiology, understand its principles, calculate disease measures, differentiate study designs, investigate outbreaks, and describe surveillance. Epidemiology is defined as the study of disease distribution, determinants, and control in populations. It has evolved from initially focusing on epidemics to understanding all disease types and is the basis of public health strategies like surveillance, descriptive studies, analytic studies, and evaluating health programs.

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Nathnael Gebeyehu
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542 views15 pages

Introduction To Epidemiology

This document provides an overview of an introductory epidemiology course. The objectives are to define epidemiology, understand its principles, calculate disease measures, differentiate study designs, investigate outbreaks, and describe surveillance. Epidemiology is defined as the study of disease distribution, determinants, and control in populations. It has evolved from initially focusing on epidemics to understanding all disease types and is the basis of public health strategies like surveillance, descriptive studies, analytic studies, and evaluating health programs.

Uploaded by

Nathnael Gebeyehu
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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PRINCIPLES OF

EPIDEMIOLOGY
Abebe Minda (MPH, PhD)
Course Objectives
After successful completion of this course the students will be
able to:
• Define epidemiology and discuss its importance in medicine
and public health
• Understand and make use of the principles of Epidemiology
• Describe concepts of disease causation
• Calculate the measures of disease and death
• Differentiate types of study design
• Investigate and control outbreaks and epidemics
• Describe the purpose and types of surveillance
• Know what sensitivity, specificity and predictive values are
• Identify the factors that affect validity of studies
Chapter one

Introduction
to
Epidemiology
Cont…
After attending this class the students able to:
• Define what epidemiology is
• Understand and explain its milestones and
evolution
• Describe its importance for health professionals
• Understand and make use of the principles of
Epidemiology
Definition
• The term epidemiology is derived from the
Greek words
– epi, which means “on or upon”;
– demos, which means “the common people”; and
– logy, which means “study”
• “The study of that which falls upon the
common people.”
• Epidemiology is the study of the distribution
and determinants of health and health-
related states or events in human population,
and the application of this study to the control
of diseases and other health problems.
• Epidemiology is the study of the distribution
and determinants of disease frequency in
human populations and the application of this
study to control health problems.
• Five key words or phrases:
– Population,
– Disease frequency,
– Disease distribution,
– Disease determinants, and
– Disease control
Cont…
• To study the distribution of health related
events
– Surveillance
– Descriptive studies
Cont…
• To study determinants of health events
– Analytic studies
Scopes of Epidemiology
• At the beginning, its scope was limited to the
understanding of epidemics.
• Recently, it is the basis of advancing our
understanding of all kinds of diseases whether
they belong to communicable, non-
communicable or injury category.
Cont..
• Its scope in public health ranges from routine
surveillance to research strategies for testing
hypotheses about causes, measurement of
health and disease risks and evaluations of
preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic
programs and technologies.
Cont…
• Some of the uses of epidemiology in public health
practice are mentioned below:
1. Elucidate the natural history of disease.
2. Describe the health status of the population.
3. Establish causation of disease.
4. Provide understanding of what causes or sustains
disease in populations.
5. Define standards and ranges for normal values of
biological and social measures.
6. Guide health and healthcare policy and planning.
7. Assist in the management and care of health and
disease in individuals.
Basic Epidemiologic Assumptions
• There are two basic assumptions:
– Human disease does not occur at random
• Behavioural
• Environmental
• Genetic
– Human disease has causal and preventive factors
History of Epidemiology
• Reading Assignment

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