History of Epidemiology: Evolution and Contribution to Medicine and Public Health

描述（由申请人提供）： 该项目的目的是编制一部从17世纪中期到20世纪中期流行病学和流行病学技术发展的系统史。托马斯·西德纳姆（1624- 1689）在确定疾病实体方面的工作，以及约翰·格朗特（1620- 1674）在使用定量方法研究鼠疫方面的工作，被普遍认为是开创了从人口角度研究疾病问题的先河。在那之后，流行病学努力获得作为一门科学学科的认可。直到世纪之交，癌症和心血管疾病等慢性病成为主要杀手，皮尔逊统计学和费雪统计学也得到发展，新的流行病学方法才开始得到发展，并得到系统应用。该项目将采取个案研究的办法，重点是具体疾病及其最初促成的方法学发展。它将为以下问题提供严格的、基于证据的答案：为什么在世纪之前没有使用群体比较来研究医学问题？为什么新的流行病学技术在1900年之前是零星的发展？为什么这些早期的发展只产生了有限的实际影响？为什么流行病学方法的发展和实际应用在大约1900年之后加速，而在1945年之后更是如此？为什么癌症和心脏病问题最有助于流行病学证明其方法的有效性，并直接影响社会政策和人口健康？对于每个案例研究，该项目是：1。系统地筛选历史， 流行病学和生物统计学文献，以获得有关历史背景的相关信息 以及构成当今流行病学的方法和概念的演变; 2.记录通过使用流行病学方法积累的医学知识。该项目还包括对高级流行病学家的视听和互联网会议的采访，以确定他们认为对其学科历史的重要性， 培训中的流行病学家应该知道什么。所有这些工作将用于撰写、修订和出版一本书，书名为《预防和医疗的最大益处：流行病学的起源和演变》。"

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The aim of this project is to produce a systematic history of epidemiology and of the development of epidemiological techniques from the mid seventeenth to the mid twentieth century. The work of Thomas Sydenham (1624-89), in identifying disease entities, and of John Graunt (1620-74) in using quantitative methods for the study of plague, is generally recognized as initiating a population approach to problems of disease. After that, epidemiology struggled to achieve recognition as a scientific discipline. It was only at the turn of the nineteenth century, with chronic diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases emerging as major killers, and with the development of Pearsonian and Fisherian statistics, that new epidemiological methods began to be developed and applied in a systematic way. The project will adopt a case-study approach, focusing on specific diseases and the methodological developments they originally stimulated. It will provide rigorous, evidence-based answers to questions such as: Why weren't medical issues studied using group comparisons before the 17th century? Why was the development of new epidemiological techniques sporadic before 1900? Why did these early developments only have a limited practical impact? Why was there an acceleration in the development and practical application of epidemiologic methods after circa 1900, and even more so after 1945? Why have cancer and heart disease issues been most useful for allowing epidemiology to demonstrate the validity of its methods and to directly impact social policy and population health? For each case-study, the project is to: 1. Systematically screen the historical, epidemiological and biostatistical literature for relevant information about the historical context and the evolution of the methods and concepts, which constitute epidemiology today; and 2. Document the medical knowledge accrued through the use of epidemiologic methods. The project also comprises the interview in audio-visual, internet conferences of senior epidemiologists to determine what they think is important about the history of their discipline and what epidemiologists-in-training should know. All this work will serve to write, revise, and publis a book entitled, "The Greatest Benefit to Prevention and Medical Treatment: Origin and Evolution of Epidemiology."