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Give your own explanation why epidemiology is considered interdisciplinary.

Epidemiology is the study of the distribution and determinants of health-related states or


events in specified populations, and the application of this study to control of health problems. In
a simpler sense, it is the collection and making-sense of our health in a collective manner to
generate cost-effective interventions. Because it is based primarily on health, it makes use of
multiple disciplines to arrive at a certain goal. The whole process of epidemiology involves the
use of the philosophy and methods of multiple other disciplines just like health.
Basically, epidemiology is traditionally connected to the health and biomedical sciences
such as biology, chemistry, anatomy, physiology, and pathology; and it is closely tied to statistics
or, more precisely, biostatistics. However, in the process of finding the best interventions, other
skills or knowledge is needed including social and technological skills, so the interdisciplinary
property goes beyond the traditional boundaries and associating social and behavioral sciences,
communications, engineering, law, cartography, and computer science. The complexity of health
problems has even spawned specialties within the discipline, including clinical epidemiology,
genetic epidemiology, nutritional epidemiology, reproductive epidemiology, injury
epidemiology, environmental epidemiology, social epidemiology, chronic disease epidemiology,
behavioral epidemiology, forensic epidemiology, genetic epidemiology, infectious disease
epidemiology and veterinary epidemiology.
Therefore, the interdisciplinary characteristic of epidemiology lies in the complexity of
health in itself which is a subject that requires specializations to implement a more focused
knowledge and goals, so epidemiology goes after those specializations as well. Epidemiology
also works with data, thus the involvement of biostatistics. In addition, the part of generating
prevention and control programs involves social, technological, and other knowledge that is
beyond health sciences, completing the interdisciplinary approach of epidemiology.

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