Program in Health Care Epidemiology

Health care epidemiology and outcomes research rest on the theoretical formulation that the distributions of health states (good health, disease, disability, and death) in populations are not random. They are determined by many factors that are found in the host, agent, or environment including biological, social, and environmental factors. One important determinant of the health of populations is the accessibility and use of health services.

Since its inception, the Department of Epidemiology at UNC-CH has been among the few departments in this discipline throughout the world with a recognized program area emphasis in the application of epidemiological theory and methods to the study of problems and issues related to the delivery of personal health services. The Department's faculty took the lead in the training of the first generation of American epidemiologists who had a substantial concern for the measurement of the impact of several variables on the distribution of illness in human populations and the factors that either enabled or impeded the use of personal health care services.

The Training Program in Health Care Epidemiology is primarily housed in the Department of Epidemiology, but the full array of activities is spread throughout the university. The program involves faculty and students from the other Health Affairs Schools, including Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy and Nursing, as well as the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research. Most students in this content area come from other programs in the School of Medicine, such as the K30 Clinical Research Curriculum and Preventive Medicine Residency Program, with only a few students primarily based in the Department. Because most departmental programs have an application aspect that relates to health care, clinical research, or policy, there is inevitable, but desirable, overlap and duplication of resources: faculty, students, research projects, and courses.