Epidemiology definition as per parks
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Here is the complete and exact answer from Park's Textbook of Preventive and Social Medicine:
Definition of Epidemiology - As per Park's
The Definition (Park's, p. 65)
"The study of the occurrence and distribution of health related events, states, and processes in specified populations, including the study of the determinants influencing such processes, and the application of this knowledge to control relevant health problems."
This is the definition Park's adopts (attributed to reference 4 in the textbook - Porta's Dictionary of Epidemiology).
Breaking Down the Key Terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Study | Includes surveillance, observation, screening, hypothesis testing, analytic research, experiments, and prediction |
| Distribution | Analysis by time, place (space), and population (i.e., classes or subgroups of persons affected) |
| Determinants | Geophysical, biological, behavioural, social, cultural, economic, and political factors that influence health |
| Health-related events, states & processes | Outbreaks, diseases, disorders, causes of death, behaviours, environmental/socio-economic processes, effects of preventive programmes, use of health and social services |
| Specified populations | Those with common contexts and identifiable characteristics |
| Application to control | Makes explicit the aim of epidemiology - to promote, protect, and restore health, and to advance scientific knowledge |
Historical Evolution of the Definition (as listed in Park's)
Park's notes that "there are almost as many definitions of epidemiology as there are authors," and gives this historical progression:
- Parkin (1873) - "That branch of medical science which treats epidemics"
- Frost (1927) - "The science of the mass phenomena of infectious diseases"
- Greenwood (1934) - "The study of disease, any disease, as a mass phenomenon"
- MacMahon (1960) - "The study of the distribution and determinants of disease frequency in man"
Three Common Components (Park's)
Although no single definition is universally accepted, Park's highlights that three components are common to most definitions:
- Disease frequency - Measurement of frequency of disease, disability, or death expressed as rates and ratios (prevalence rate, incidence rate, death rate, etc.)
- Distribution - Analysis by time, place, and person
- Determinants - Factors that determine disease occurrence
Important Note
Park's also emphasizes that modern epidemiology has expanded its scope far beyond infectious epidemics to include:
- Endemic infectious diseases
- Chronic diseases
- Accidents and mental health
- Health-related states and "facts of life" in human populations
- Study and measurement of health service impact
"Epidemiology, like public health itself, is often more concerned with the well-being of society as a whole, than with the well-being of individuals."
- Park's Textbook of Preventive and Social Medicine, p. 65
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