What Epidemiologists Do

Epidemiologists investigate the causes of disease and other public health problems to prevent them from spreading or from happening again. They report their findings to public policy officials and to the general public.

Duties

Epidemiologists typically do the following:

• Plan and direct studies of public health problems to find ways to prevent and to treat the problems
• Collect and analyze data—including using observations, interviews, surveys, and samples of blood or other bodily fluids—to find the causes of diseases or other health problems
• Communicate their findings to health practitioners, policymakers, and the public
• Manage public health programs by planning programs, monitoring progress, analyzing data, and seeking ways to improve them, among other activities
• Supervise professional, technical, and clerical personnel

Epidemiologists collect and analyze data to investigate health issues. For example, an epidemiologist might collect and analyze demographic data to determine who is at the highest risk for a particular disease.

Research epidemiologists typically work for universities. Applied epidemiologists work with governments, addressing health crises directly. The most common problem both types of epidemiologists work on is infectious diseases, but they examine other public health issues, as well.

Epidemiologists who work in private industry commonly work for health insurance companies or pharmaceutical companies. Those in non-profit companies often do public advocacy work.

According to a 2009 national survey by the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists, local government epidemiologists study one or more of the following public health areas:

• Infectious diseases
• Bioterrorism/emergency response
• Maternal and child health
• Chronic diseases
• Environmental health
• Injury
• Occupational health
• Substance abuse
• Oral health

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2012-13 Edition