Epidemiology refers to the analysis and study of the causes, patterns, and health effects of diseases in a given or specified demographic area. In the contemporary health field, epidemiology has been used to study cancer and its prognosis in communities where dump sites with toxic wastes are dumped (Rothman, 2012, p. 13). To determine any relatable relationship between the cancerous cells and toxic waste, individuals residing close to such dump sites are evaluated relative to those located far from the dump sites. It is also used to determine whether the diet of an expectant mother has an impact on an infant’s weight, whilst doing the same comparison after the birth of the child (Morris, p. 22). Significant information is however required with regard to the number of mothers and infants considered by the study. Over the last twenty years, epidemiology has been used a lot for disease surveillance. This involves determining the number of individuals who have contracted a given disease, over a given period of time with the inclusion of the size of the population that has not been affected by the disease (Oleckno, 2012, p. 37). Disease patterns are determined based on the frequency with which a disease is acquired by the population. It has also been used to search for the causes of diseases. Epidemiology makes use of interviews, examination results, and archived records all of which point to the characteristics and occurrence of various diseases. This can be used to determine disease causes. A new treatment has always been tested using epidemiology, especially in the United States. A new medicine must be tested and then proven to ensure its efficiency and safety (Morris, p. 75). This can only be determined by using them on actual people, based on the aspects of the epidemiology of a given sample population.
References
Morris, J. N. (n.d.). Uses of Epidemiology. 2006: Churchill Livingstone.
Oleckno, W. A. (2012). Essential Epidemiology: Principles and Applications. Waveland Press.
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Rothman, K. J. (2012). Epidemiology: An Introduction. Oxford University Press.
