{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.epidemiology","code":"thing-q133805","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q133805/","name":"epidemiology","alternateNames":["seroepidemiology","branch of epidemiology","environmental epidemiology","epizootiology","clinical epidemiology","Behavioural epidemiology","forensic epidemiology","Māori epidemiology","epidemiology of violence","digital epidemiology","ecological epidemiology","special epidemiology"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.2","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Information and virtual systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"INF","domain":["INF.KNW"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"The branch of health science that studies the distribution, determinants and control of diseases and health states in populations, using methods such as surveillance, cohort and case-control studies, trials and modelling, with subfields including clinical, environmental, behavioural and seroepidemiology and, for animal populations, epizootiology; epidemiology underpins public health policy and outbreak response.","purpose":"Let an agent explain epidemiological concepts and methods, interpret epidemiological findings with appropriate caution, describe subfields, and support learning and public health communication.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Population focus","Quantitative methods","Causal inference","Policy relevance"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"concepts","name":"Concepts","description":"Core concepts.","layers":[{"id":"measures","name":"Measures","description":"Measures of disease.","findings":[{"id":"measures-finding","name":"Measures","description":"Measures.","questions":[{"text":"What do incidence, prevalence, relative risk, odds ratio and attributable risk mean?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"How are absolute and relative risks communicated?","kind":"definition"}]}]},{"id":"designs","name":"Designs","description":"Study designs.","findings":[{"id":"designs-finding","name":"Designs","description":"Designs.","questions":[{"text":"How do cohort, case-control, cross-sectional and trial designs differ, and what can each show?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"What are bias and confounding?","kind":"definition"}]}]}]},{"id":"interpret","name":"Interpret","description":"Reading studies.","layers":[{"id":"study","name":"Study","description":"Interpreting a study.","findings":[{"id":"study-finding","name":"Study","description":"Interpretation.","questions":[{"text":"What does this epidemiological study show, and what are its limitations?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Does it support a causal claim?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"news","name":"News","description":"Health news.","findings":[{"id":"news-finding","name":"News","description":"Health news.","questions":[{"text":"Is this health headline consistent with the underlying study?","kind":"boundary"},{"text":"How should uncertainty be communicated?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"apply","name":"Apply","description":"Outbreaks and policy.","layers":[{"id":"outbreak","name":"Outbreak","description":"Outbreak investigation.","findings":[{"id":"outbreak-finding","name":"Outbreak","description":"Outbreaks.","questions":[{"text":"How are outbreaks investigated and controlled, and what is the current official guidance for this outbreak?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the user reporting symptoms needing medical care?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"subfields","name":"Subfields","description":"Subfields.","findings":[{"id":"subfields-finding","name":"Subfields","description":"Subfields.","questions":[{"text":"What do environmental, clinical, behavioural or seroepidemiology and epizootiology study?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which entry fits a specific subfield?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"learn","name":"Learn","description":"Study and careers.","layers":[{"id":"careers","name":"Careers","description":"Becoming an epidemiologist.","findings":[{"id":"careers-finding","name":"Careers","description":"Careers.","questions":[{"text":"How does one train as an epidemiologist, and where do they work?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which skills are needed?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"history","name":"History","description":"History of epidemiology.","findings":[{"id":"history-finding","name":"History","description":"History.","questions":[{"text":"How did epidemiology develop, from John Snow to modern methods?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which studies are landmarks?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Explain epidemiological methods and findings with sources and stated uncertainty.","Report official surveillance data with its date and source."],"mustNot":["Present a single study as definitive or claim causation from association alone.","Re-identify people from health data.","Spread outbreak misinformation or contradict official guidance without evidence.","Blame groups for disease spread without evidence."],"requiresHuman":["Issuing public health advice or outbreak alerts."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Epidemiology guides decisions affecting whole populations; errors cost lives.","Outbreaks have been used to stigmatise groups."],"affectedParties":["The public","Patients whose data is used","Stigmatised groups"]},"owners":{"steward":"Nobody: a science; public health agencies conduct surveillance.","roles":[],"masterSystems":["Disease surveillance systems"]},"relations":[{"target":"Q843601","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"health sciences","type":"related","note":"category"},{"target":"public health","type":"related","note":"application"},{"target":"biostatistics","type":"related","note":"methods"},{"target":"causes of schizophrenia","type":"related","note":"example of epidemiological research"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.epidemiology","Wikidata: Q133805 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q133805)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":[]},"recognition":{"applicability":"optional","items":["Population-level study of health","Uses rates and study designs","Clinical medicine treats individuals","Not physical; studies, data and reports."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain concepts such as incidence, risk and confounding","interpret studies and their limits","describe subfields","support public health communication"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Confusing correlation with causation","Misreading relative and absolute risk","Misinformation during outbreaks"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["Reporting guidelines such as STROBE","Research ethics and data protection","Disease surveillance regulations"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Understanding health and disease in populations.","infectious disease epidemiology","chronic disease epidemiology","environmental and occupational epidemiology","clinical and behavioural epidemiology","seroepidemiology and epizootiology"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q133805: epidemiology","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q133805","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Epidemiology","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epidemiology","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should each subfield be a separate entry?","How should surveillance data be linked?","How should reporting guidelines be linked?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q133805/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q133805/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-11T21:19:23Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"not-applicable","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-06T19:51:54+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.properties":"Plane INF: no invented physical properties."},"score":1.0}}