By knowing the ongoing pattern of disease occurrence and disease potential, a health department can effectively and efficiently investigate, prevent, and control disease in its community. An effective disease surveillance program systematically collects, analyzes, interprets, and disseminates health data on an ongoing basis. It is a quantitative science in which probability, statistics, and sound research methods are used. Epidemiology is a method of causal reasoning based on developing and testing hypotheses pertaining to occurrence and prevention of morbidity and mortality. It is the basic tool used in public health to promote and protect the health of a community and is essential for carrying out public health surveillance, disease investigation, analytic studies, and program evaluation.
Epidemiology is based in science and a dose of practical common sense.
Texas Department of Health, Immunization Division. All Rights Reserved.