EPID 301 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Epidemiological Method

• School: Queen's University
• Department: Community Health and Epidemiology
• Course: EPID 301
• Professor: Helene Ouellette-Kuntz

Document Summary

Chapter 1: what is epidemiology: definition and terms. Epidemiology: the study of the distribution and determinants of disease in populations. Distribution: focus of descriptive epidemiology / essential for developing hypotheses about their etiology and for planning health services. Determinants: focus of analytic epidemiology / something that causes a disease (an etiological factor), or that influences the distribution of disease in population / ex. Risk factors, factors that determine the chances of recovering or dying from a disease. **epidemiology has 2 major branches: descriptive epidemiology and analytical epidemiology. Epidemiology is a population-based science (focuses on groups of people rather than individuals) Studies of large groups of people focus the health outcomes associated with various exposures in a way that is not possible at the individual level (cancels out the differences) **epidemiology emphasizes groups of people rather than individuals, but it can teach us a lot about health risks that are important to individuals.