Epidemiologist

EPIDEMIOLOGIST

Epidemiologists blend demography, statistics, and community health with biomedical science to study diseases and other health conditions in populations. Epidemiologists employed by federal, state, and local public health agencies support disease-prevention program planning and evaluation by determining risk factors, trends, and patterns of disease occurrence in different population groups. These public health investigators use epidemiological methods to explain disease outbreaks and study emerging conditions such as Legionnaire's disease and Ebola virus infection. Epidemiologists have expanded their role from investigating infectious epidemics to studying a range of health conditions, including chronic diseases, injuries, mental health, and health-service delivery.

ROBERT J. CAMPBELL

(SEE ALSO: Communicable Disease Control; Community Health; Demography; Disease Prevention; Epidemiology; Noncommunicable Disease Control; Vital Statistics)