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What is an Epidemiologist?

The role of an epidemiologist is indispensable in modern society. Their research forms the front lines in the human battle against diseases, providing valuable insight into the patterns and progression of diseases. In the course of their investigations, they offer sense to the seemingly senseless process of transmission in urban or rural environments, without which epidemics would cripple or destroy our civilization. In the article below, we’ll explore their role in greater detail.

The Light of Analysis

Who could forget the Black Death, a name given to the bubonic plague as it crashed across Asia and Europe during the centuries between the fall of the Roman Empire and the Renaissance? Today, we know that the bacteria that caused that suffering and carnage, completely reshaping the social structures of Europe, was brought by fleas, which hitched rides on rats. These vermin traveled from the Orient via traders’ ships.

But to see this intricate pattern, we need the epidemiologist. They are trained to see the overarching interactions of health and disease, to discern the pathways of vectors within the tangled puzzle of human sociality, whether in urban or rural contexts. Without them, we would also attribute the spread of measles or Ebola to the whims of fickle deities or the winds of cosmic fates. But the tools of their analyses can be applied to many cultural factors not directly associated with disease vectors, social maladies or environmental diseases.

Tools of the Trade

Public health relies upon the scrutiny and vision of epidemiologists. These highly trained professionals collect data and material from varied sources to answer questions posed. Far from reactionary, they plan detailed studies to determine potential courses of disease within society. They then collect data in a directed manner, from surveys and interviews; blood, fluid, and tissue; and direct observations.

One of the most vital aspects of their profession is communication. They bring the findings of rigorously tested models and studies to health care professionals, public health officials, and government agencies. Once they communicate the need for action or vigilance, many of those not involved in pure research take an active role in advocacy, community planning or implementation of programs designed to treat or prevent a specified vector.

Whether they are engaged in pure research or public health advocacy, they specialize their focus to maximize the impact of their scrutiny. Some of the areas they explore include infectious diseases, maternal and child mortality or health, oral health, behavioral epidemiology, environmental health, injury, chronic diseases, or public preparedness and response to an emergency. In whatever area they focus, the tools of analysis remain constant. Only the questions vary. In the modern milieu, it is more critical than ever that we both provide them with the resources needed to complete their objectives and apply the insights they provide.

Consider the entangled nature of our globalized culture. The concept of disease is no longer restricted to long voyages on sailing ships. Nor is the nature of sickness considered to apply only to infectious bacteriological and viral agents, but may be something as abstruse as the transmission of an unhealthy social behavior or living condition. The epidemiologist sits at the center of a complex nexus of action, thought, and microbiology, incorporating the cultural values of many different countries around the world.