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Epidemiology

Life Sciences

Epidemiology is the study of how disease is distributed in populations and what factors determine that distribution, work that underlies public health practice from outbreak investigation to prevention policy.

Facts
Founded Year
1854 1
Central Question
What in a population, rather than in any one patient, explains why a disease spreads or a health outcome occurs, and what intervention at the population level would change that outcome? 2
Scope
Epidemiology is the study of the distribution and determinants of health-related states and events in specified populations, and the application of that study to controlling health problems. 2
Significance
John Snow's investigation of the 1854 Broad Street cholera outbreak in London, tracing cases to a single contaminated water pump years before the germ theory of disease was established, is widely regarded as the founding achievement of modern epidemiology. 2
Connections

Founded By

John Snow, Scientists
Source Epidemiology (Wikipedia)

Has Scientist

John Snow, Scientists
Source John Snow (Britannica)

Studies

Source John Snow (Britannica)
P-value, Concepts
Source John Snow (Britannica)
Source John Snow (Britannica)
Source John Snow (Britannica)
Source John Snow (Britannica)
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. John Snow (Britannica)
Encyclopaedia BritannicaView the Source
2. Epidemiology (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia
  • Lead section
    Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution, patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population, and application of this knowledge to prevent diseases.
  • Founded By: John Snow
View the Source
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