3.1 Epidemiology

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search icon Surveillance is one of the methods used by epidemiological investigations.

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  • The study of the frequency and distribution of health events and their determinants in human populations, and the application of such research to the prevention and control of health problems.
  • The study of how diseases vary according to person, time and place. When the distribution of prevalence is not uniform according to person, time and place, you are able to identify high-risk groups for prevention or research purposes.

Epidemiology is the study of the distribution and determinants of health-related states or events in specified populations and the application of this study to control health problems.

Page last reviewed: October 30, 2019
Content source: Division of Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, NCBDDD, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention