02/12/2025
Explain Like I'm 5 (ELI5): What does an epidemiologist do?
In today's series, I wish to share a technique for communicating complex ideas: creating a version of it for a five-year-old, then build up from that. Here's how I explain what I do to a five-year-old, sixteen-year-old, and a university student.
Five-year-old: I'm a HEALTH DETECTIVE. When people in a town or a province get sick, I help other grown-ups find out WHY they get sick. I ask questions like "Did you wash your hands before dinner?" or "Is the water clean?" and count how many people say "Yes" and "No".
Sixteen-year-old: I'm a PUBLIC HEALTH SCIENTIST. I normally look at health problems in low and middle-income countries, count how many people are affected, how many people have the risk factors, try to figure out which risk factors are the most obvious, and write up reports that hopefully influence health departments' decisions. Right now I focus on water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), mental health and substance use, and health problems among minority groups.
Read more 👉https://link.psu.th/X4SAKM
University student: I'm an APPLIED EPIDEMIOLOGIST (i.e., a PUBLIC HEALTH SCIENTIST). Essentially, I look at the distribution of diseases and their determinants in a population, and analyze data to make policy-relevant recommendations. My research interests are in global health, specifically water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), behavioral health (AKA mental health & substance use), and health inequity (focusing on health problems among minority groups). I teach in a graduate-level program, so right now I also supervise master's and doctoral level students on their theses work. I work about 40-50 hours per week and my work is 50% supervising, 30% own research, and 20% academic service and administrative tasks. On most days, I code in R, write up research concept notes / proposals / analysis plan / manuscript drafts and revisions, and prepare presentations (or help my students to do so). We take people from a very wide variety of backgrounds (not just health sciences and STEM, but also social sciences and humanities). If you're interested, please let me know.
For more details, please see the links and email below.
Department Website: https://medipe2.psu.ac.th/
Graduate Program Information: https://lnkd.in/gPWTnqKC
MS (Epidemiology): https://lnkd.in/gDPeChJf
PhD (Epidemiology): https://lnkd.in/g5kQQu97
page: https://lnkd.in/gZ8bEE9G
Program Information at PSU Website: https://lnkd.in/gEZ8YgkR
International Affairs Officer, Ms. Anyawadee Limwachirachot: bags.anyawadee@gmail.com
Disclaimers: Written by Wit Wichaidit. Content created with assistance from a generative AI, with extensive revisions by me. Texts drafted and finalized by me. Not an official statement by the Department of Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, or Prince of Songkla University.
