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

描述(由申请人提供)： 该项目的目的是制作一部系统的流行病学历史和十七世纪中叶至二十世纪中叶流行病学技术的发展史。托马斯·赛德纳姆(1624-89年)在确定疾病实体方面的工作，以及约翰·格兰特(1620-74年)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人口方法来解决疾病问题。在那之后，流行病学很难被承认为一门科学学科。直到19世纪初，随着癌症和心血管疾病等慢性疾病成为主要杀手，随着皮尔逊和菲舍尔统计学的发展，新的流行病学方法才开始以系统的方式开发和应用。该项目将采用个案研究方法，侧重于特定疾病及其最初刺激的方法发展。它将为以下问题提供严格的、以证据为基础的答案：为什么在17世纪之前没有使用群体比较来研究医学问题？为什么在1900年之前，新的流行病学技术的发展是零星的？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年后加速，在1945年后更是如此？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，项目是：1.系统地筛选历史、 流行病学和生物统计学文献，获取有关历史背景的信息 以及构成当今流行病学的方法和概念的演变；以及2.记录通过使用流行病学方法积累的医学知识。该项目还包括在视听和互联网会议上采访资深流行病学家，以确定他们认为关于其学科历史和 正在接受培训的流行病学家应该知道的。所有这些工作将用于撰写、修订和出版一本名为《预防和医疗的最大好处：流行病学的起源和演变》的书。

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."