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Importance of Epidemiology in Public Health

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Importance of Epidemiology in Public Health

Epidemiology is the study of disease and its implication among the population.

Epidemiology identifies the disease's distribution, source, and cause, and the method of

controlling the disease's spread before it becomes an epidemic in the population. Whereas

epidemiology is termed as the study of disease occurrence and transmission in the public sphere,

the epidemiological studies determine the patterns of the disease and determinants. In this case,

the term is mostly incorporated in public health to study diseases and health problems. The term

emerged in the 19th century when public health professionals found it necessary to study the

disease's patterns and causative agents. In this case, the scientists found it necessary to use

epidemiology as a standard approach to counting events in terms of births, deaths, and diseases

(Haeberer et al., 2020). Epidemiology is a science of high importance on public health

surveillance, field investigation, and analytic study due to its ability to handle health issues

arising within the public.

The clinicians and epidemiologists have a different perspective concerning the spread of

the disease and the population. The health professionals have expertise in handling the specific

problems of an individual. When an individual gets sick, they visit the healthcare institution

where they get treatment as per the knowledge of the healthcare professional. The professionals

study how the individual's body reacts with the drugs prescribed by the doctor. Besides, the

professionals study the drug's variability in the body of the individual looking for health care

services. However, the reasons why some problems occur within the individual patient's body is

highlighted as the basis of concern among the epidemiologists (Aschengrau & Seage, 2013). By
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studying many people, epidemiologists can understand the patterns and the spread of the disease

among a particular group of population. By studying the magnitude, the experts can understand

the problem and its magnitude on the entire population.

Epidemiology and Public Health Surveillance

Epidemiology is an essential aspect of public health that assists in monitoring the pulse of

the community. Public health surveillance entails the systematic collection, analysis,

interpretation, and dissemination of the healthcare data that could effectively attain the right

decision making and action. The purpose of epidemiology is to establish the concepts of

“information for action” ( Díaz-Vélez et al., 2013, p.264). In this case, a network of experts

shares information about the particular illness's spreading pattern. The healthcare providers

submit most of the surveillance reports, including mobility and mortality reports. The

information from the report is vital for disease control and public health decision making. The

local and state health departments volunteer the mobility and mortality reports for use as a form

of surveillance data. Most surveillance models in healthcare systems rely on simple systems as

tools for collecting reliable information.

The public health surveillance team assists the healthcare system in identifying the

distribution of the disease, factors underlying the source and the cause, and the method of the

disease control to ensure that spreading is impossible. Epidemiology is not viewed as an actual

science due to the intense communication requirements to get the right data. Human surveillance

can be achieved through the study of an individual's behavior in a particular population.

Studying the human behaviors of individuals comes in hand with factors such as the

socioeconomic and lifestyle factors and the built environment(Sommer et al.,2015). The

identified socioeconomic and environmental factors are known to imply the healthcare outcomes.
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Human behaviors and interaction patterns can be identified as significant contributors to

cardiovascular and genetic illnesses. In this case, epidemiologists cannot overlook the factors in

the study of human health.

Epidemiology controls Communicable disease.

The epidemiology concept has been useful for determining the spread of infectious

diseases and control their spread among the studied population. Infectious diseases are illnesses

caused by viruses or bacteria that people spread from one individual to another through contact

with contaminated surfaces. The survey team determines the history and implication of the

disease on the victims' health through the physical examination(Goodman et al., 2019). After the

outbreak of infectious diseases, the surveillance team studies a subgroup of a particular locality

to analyze the disease's strength, the spreading pattern, and how it reacts with the body.

Identifying patients with the illness is done in the clinical setting, usually through the laboratory

reporting or the physician.

Advanced countries such as the United States requires public health experts to report

several diseases to the public health authority (Goodman et al., 2019). There is a tangible

outcome from the epidemiology research. It is evident and unquestionable that the discipline has

assisted in saving millions of lives. The study has facilitated the process of intervention and

prevention programs for both infectious and non-communicable illnesses. At the same time, the

exact number of lives saved by the epidemiology research, effective in controlling the disease.

Field Investigation

Ultimately, the purpose of the field investigation in controlling disease entails

implementing scientifically reasonable and advisable control measures to ensure that an

additional outbreak associated with mobility and mortality is prevented. Epidemiologists

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consider the timeframe in the suspected epidemic setting (Goodman et al., 2019). The

investigation may either include limited actions such as phone calls to confirm details of the

actual use of field researchers through a coordinated network. However, the objective of the

investigation may vary. The study may either identify the spreading of a disease pattern or find

the places where the illness is common.

Epidemiology helps carry out field investigation about the particular victim who may

continue to spread the disease to the population rendered free. Field investigation requires a

dozen people characterized by the extent of the epidemic and the identification of its causes and

symptoms. The epidemiology field investigation is done in response to the acute public health

problem (Díaz-Vélez et al., 2013). After an outbreak, it is critical for the healthcare system to

determine the causative agent of the illness and the possible ways of control. Most healthcare

organizations cannot carry out the study of the disease concerning its source and the basis of

control.

The Identification of Risk Factors

Identifying the risk factor of some diseases may be difficult if some studies are not

conducted to determine the disease's characteristics. The risk factor is the critical characteristic

that one can identify through the epidemiologist exercise. Epidemiological studies can be used to

identify the risk factors of some diseases (Hotex,2018). A risk factor or a determinant is a

variable that accelerates the rate of infections of a particular illness and enables its spread to the

targeted population.

Similarly, epidemiology is an essential aspect of understanding climate change's

implication in the cause and spread of illness in different populations. In this case,

epidemiological research can determine the effect of temperature, humidity, and seasonality I the
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spread and contraction of illness. Through the study, healthcare experts can determine the

expansion of the ranges of disease vector. For instance, experts believe that urbanization and

climate changes have been attributed to the increase in population. The spread of Ebola and the

Zika virus in Texas was attributed to the increase in population, urbanization, and climate change

(Hotez, 2018). Public health experts believed that the increased inequality gap and urbanization

present a new challenge in infectious disease dynamics.

The public health sector is dynamic and requires professionals to balance good health and

proper follow-ups on the disease. The spread of infectious diseases has been a challenge in the

past few decades due to the lack of enough information and tools to study the disease's spread.

Epidemiology is an essential aspect of public health that deals with studying the sources, spread,

and control of illness in a particular population. The use of epidemiology knowledge in

identifying the risk factors of the disease and conducting the extent of the disease spread is vital

in the ever increasing population and the changing dynamics(Díaz-Vélez et al., 2013). Some of

the significant areas where the knowledge can be necessary are during the illness outbreak,

where field surveillance personnel can find outpatients and separate them from the population.
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References

Aschengrau, A., & Seage, G. R. (2013). Essentials of epidemiology in public health. Jones &

Bartlett Publishers.

Díaz-Vélez, C., Soto-Cáceres, V., Peña-Sánchez, R. E., Segura, M. A. A., & Galán-Rodas, E.

(2013). Clinical epidemiology and its relevance for public health in developing countries.

In Current Topics in Public Health. IntechOpen.

Goodman, R. A., Buehler, J. W., Mott, J. A., Rasmussen, S. A., & Goodman, R. A. (2019).

Defining field epidemiology. The CDC Field Epidemiology Manual, 3-20.

Haeberer, M., Tsolova, S., Riley, P., Cano-Portero, R., Rexroth, U., Ciotti, M., & Fraser, G.

(2020). Tools for Assessment of Country Preparedness for Public Health Emergencies: A

Critical Review. Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, 1-11.

Hotez, P. J. (2018). The rise of neglected tropical diseases in the" new Texas." PLoS Neglected

Tropical Diseases, 12(1), e0005581.

Sommer, I., Griebler, U., Mahlknecht, P., Thaler, K., Bouskill, K., Gartlehner, G., & Mendis, S.

(2015). Socioeconomic inequalities in non-communicable diseases and their risk factors:

an overview of systematic reviews. BMC public health, 15(1), 914.