Maths for Clinicians 5

• What is epidemiology?

  • Studies occurrence & distribution of health-related states/events + influencers of such states
  • E.g, how often diseases occur in different groups of people & why
  • Moves from patient level evidence to population level evidence
• What is descriptive epidemiology?

  Describes patterns of health & disease in populations
• What is analytic epidemiology?

  Why some populations are at greater risk of disease -> identify risk factors
• What does PICO stand for?

  • Problem to address & target population
  • Exposure (risk factor investigated)
  • (Intervention & Control)
  • Outcomes (disease/health state)
• What is an ecological study?

  • Observational
  • Exposure &/or disease observed at group level e.g, hospital or region
  • Doesn't assess participants individually