Epidemiological methods are used for disease surveillance to identify which hazards are the most important. Epidemiological studies are also used to identify risk factors which may represent critical control points in the food production system. Compared to general epidemiology, applied epidemiology focuses on the development of policy and health reform from epidemiologic findings and surveillance. Applied epidemiology data is used to inform resource allocation to promote population health initiatives
So, epidemiology is important but is it a science? Yes, it is. While it may not be helpful to compare it with, say, mathematics, it is a bona fide multidisciplinary approach to the study of human health and disease that follows the scientific method of systematic observation, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses. If anything, epidemiology is a highly complex science because it needs to consider multiple variables associated with human diseases, such as pathogens, human social or travel dynamics, and the climate. This can mean that the results obtained for a disease and/or outbreak may not always be replicable for the same disease in a different environment.
Nature Communications editors appreciate the importance of epidemiology and would like to encourage submissions from the field, especially when applied to tackling issues of public health.