HLTC05H3 Lecture Notes - Cohort Study, Syphilis, Coronary Artery Disease
Document Summary
Epidemiology is the study of the distribution and determinants of the various forms of disease in human populations. Their aim is to uncover a causal link between one or more of these factors and the development of the disease. anthropologists deploy universals to arrive at particulars, epidemiologists tolerate particulars in their quest for universals" Both deal with the study of populations rather than individuals. Both seek to understand the role of social (and other) variables in the lives of individuals and how they impact upon them. The case-control method examines a sample of the population suffering from a particular disease. If it is possible to demonstrate a statistically significant correlation between certain factors and the occurrence of the disease then a casual link can be postulated. In the cohort study approach, a healthy populanon (some of whom are associated with hypothetical time, waiting for a particular disease to occur.
