- INTRODUCTION
Epidemiology is the systematic study of the distribution (patterns, frequencies, trends) and determinants (causes, risk factors, exposures) of health-related events in specified populations, and the application of this knowledge to the prevention, control, and management of disease.
Epidemiology provides the conceptual and methodological foundation for:
Public health decision-making
Disease surveillance and outbreak response
Health policy and programme evaluation
Resource allocation and priority setting
Clinical research and evidence-based practice
Epidemiological studies use structured methods to: - Describe disease patterns
- Identify causes and risk factors
- Generate and Test hypotheses
- Evaluate interventions
- Provide evidence for policies
Because public health decisions affect populations, accurate study designs are critical for valid inference.