HLST 1010 Chapter 1: Chapter 1 Summary
Document Summary
The main focus of this chapter traces the historical roots of epidemiology"s evolution, its main concepts, and discusses how the way it is practised limits its potential to improve the health of populations. This chapter considers what health means at various biological and social levels, and the sources of health in populations. It is argued that the gap between rich and poor in a society is the key factor in producing health. The gap likely matters most in early life, somewhere between conception and age ve. Furthermore, inequality is also a factor in bad health. Poor water quality and scarcity of food are plaguing countries like south asia. Millions of people there have bad food, and poor drinking water. John snow, who studied people who succumbed to cholera in london 150 years ago is the rst example of epidemiology. He discovered an association between deaths in various districts and the sources of drinking water.