Epidemiology
In epidemiology, researchers examine the who, when, and where of disease outbreaks and their causes and effects on a specific population. It is fundamental to public health because it identifies illness risk factors and areas to focus preventative healthcare efforts. Researchers often rely on epidemiologists for assistance in developing research questions, recruiting participants, collecting data, analyzing data, interpreting results, and disseminating their findings (including peer review and occasional systematic review). The field of epidemiology has contributed to the refinement of research methods used in various fields, including medicine, public health, and even the more fundamental biological sciences. Disease surveillance, environmental epidemiology, forensic epidemiology, occupational epidemiology, screening, biomonitoring, and comparing treatment effects through clinical trials are all examples of important areas of study in epidemiology. The field of epidemiology relies on the knowledge of other scientific fields to do its job effectively. These fields include biology for a deeper understanding of disease processes, statistics for making effective use of data and drawing valid conclusions, the social sciences for a better grasp of both immediate and long-term causes, and engineering for exposure assessment.