Barts and The London, School of Medicine and Dentistry
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GMC Domains

TD 12; APPLICATION OF SCIENTIFIC METHOD AND APPROACHES TO MEDICAL RESEARCH: Medical knowledge: EPIDEMIOLOGY

Introduction

Definition of Epidemiology

Epidemiology is the study of the incidence, distribution and determinants of diseases in human populations with a view to identifying their causes and bringing about their prevention.

 

Aims and Objectives of the Teaching

Aim:

To provide an introduction to epidemiology and public health showing how these areas of medicine are related to individual and population health sciences.

Objectives:

1.  An awareness of the burden of disease in the community, how it is measured, and the relative importance of different diseases as causes of morbidity and mortality.

2.  An appreciation and application of numerical methods in medicine. The importance of a quantitative approach.

3.  The basic academic discipline of epidemiology and its relationship with clinical medicine, pathology and the application of elementary statistics. The identification of the causes of major diseases, leading to preventive strategies. The relative importance of personal medical services and of environmental and lifestyle changes in the prevention of disease.

4.  The evaluation and interpretation of screening tests and diagnostic tests.

5.  An awareness of cost effectiveness in medicine, and of cost benefit analysis. The formulation of judgements on efficacy, safety and cost in medical care.

6.  An appreciation of the organisation and delivery of health care services.

7.  An appreciation of the epidemiological approach to a problem.

 

Filter outcomes

Index