Knowra Epidemiology Epidemiology Epidemiology studies the distribution and determinants of health-related conditions in populations and applies that knowledge to prevent and control health problems.
Incidence : The rate at which new cases of a condition arise in a population over a specified period. It measures how quickly new cases emerge, distinguishing risk over time from existing burden.
Risk : The probability that an event or outcome will occur in a defined population over a specified period. Risk expresses the chance of disease among people who could develop it.
Outbreak investigation : The systematic identification of an outbreak's cause, scale, transmission pattern, and means of control. It applies case finding and exposure analysis to urgent clusters of illness.
John Snow : A British physician whose investigations of cholera transmission helped establish modern epidemiologic methods. His London cholera work linked mapped cases and water exposure to a preventable cause.
Clinical epidemiology : The application of epidemiologic methods to questions about diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, and outcomes in clinical care. It brings population-study methods to decisions about individual patients.
Prevalence : The proportion of a population that has a condition at a specified time or during a specified period. It captures the population burden that incidence alone cannot show.
Rate : A measure of how quickly events occur, usually accounting for the population's time at risk. Time-based rates allow comparisons when populations are followed for different durations.
Contact tracing : The identification and follow-up of people exposed to an infectious case to interrupt transmission. It uses transmission links to find exposed people and prevent further spread.
Broad Street cholera outbreak : The 1854 cholera outbreak in London's Soho district investigated by John Snow. Its case mapping and water-pump inquiry became a landmark example of outbreak investigation.
Molecular epidemiology : The use of molecular measurements to investigate disease distribution, causes, and transmission in populations. It adds biomarkers and pathogen genetics to population-level evidence.
Show all 27