SynonymsDistributed information systems; Epidemics; Epidemiology, computational; Information management systems; Public health
DefinitionEpidemiology is the study of patterns of health in a population and the factors that contribute to these patterns. It plays an essential role in public health through the elucidation of the processes that lead to ill health as well as the evaluation of strategies designed to promote good health. Epidemiologists are primarily concerned with public health data, which includes the design of studies, evaluation and interpretation of public health data, and the maintenance of data collection systems.Computational Epidemiology is the development and use of computer models for the spatio-temporal diffusion of disease through populations. The models may range from descriptive, e.g. static estimates of correlations within large databases, to generative, e.g. computing the spread of disease via person-toperson interactions through a large population. The disease may represent an actual infectious disease, or it may represent a more general reaction-diffusion process, such as the diffusion of innovation. The populations of interest depend on the disease, including humans, animals, plants, and computers. Similarly, the interactions that must be represented depend on the disease and the populations, including physical proximity for aerosol-borne disease, sexual contact for sexually transmitted diseases, and insect feeding patterns for mosquito-borne diseases. In general, then, computational epidemiology creates computer models of diffusive processes spreading across interaction networks.The basic goal of epidemiological modeling is to understand the dynamics of disease spread well enough to control it. Potential interventions for controlling infectious disease include pharmaceuticals for treatment or prophylaxis, social interventions designed to change transmission rates between individuals, physical barriers to transmission, and eradication of vectors. Efficient use of these interventions requires targeting sub- populations that are on the critical path of disease spread. Computational models can be used to identify those critical subpopulations and to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of proposed interventions.
Historical BackgroundEpidemiology did not emerge as a distinct discipline until the mid-nineteenth century as the medical sciences sought to determine the efficacy of different medical practices. John Snow famously interrupted the 1854 cholera outbreak in London by removing the handle of the Broad Street pump, an event that is widely credited with bringing epidemiology into the mainstream. His studies along with those of many others were responsible for bringing about wide-ranging public health reforms and laid the foundation for the development of the germ theory of disease causation. Once etiological agents were identified as the cause of disease, the sanitary reforms of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries greatly reduced the incidence of infectious disease i...
