Epidemiology is the study of how often diseases occur in different groups of people and why. Cancer epidemiology is therefore the study of how often cancer occurs in different groups and why. Part of the work on examining why is to measure the effect of factors which may put a patient at high risk of getting the type of cancer in question.
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The study of the distribution of health outcome or disease within population and the factors that determines the broader health outcomes and diseases (risk factors) In health care system epidemiologists focus mainly their attentions from population level rather than individual level.
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specified by persons, place and time. The Merriam-Webster dictionary (2015) also defines Epidemiology as a branch of medical science that deals with the incidence, distribution, and control of a disease in a population. It studies the sum of the factors controlling the presence or absence of a disease or pathogen. The World Health Organization (2013) defines Epidemiology as the study of the distribution and determinants of health related states or events (including disease) and the application of this study to the control of diseases and other health problems. Various methods can be used to carry out epidemiological investigations: surveillance and descriptive studies can be used to study distributions of health and disease while analytical studies are used to study determinants of health and disease. Epidemiology is the study of the distribution and determinants of health – related states and events in specified populations and the application of this study to the control of health problems (Tyler and Last, 1991). It is the study of factors that cause or encourage diseases and also seeks to find out why some diseases are common in some places, among some people and certain genetic and socioeconomic characteristics. Epidemiology is the study of the patterns, causes and effects of health and disease conditions on defined populations. It helps identify risk factors of disease and targets for preventive medicine. It is the cornerstone of public health and informs policy decisions by identifying risk factors in disease.
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