Implications of epidemiology for community medicine

Although both epidemiology and community medicine are difficult to define, the relationship between them can be described in practical terms. Examples are given in which cardiovascular epidemiological studies demonstrated the need (a) for improving existing community health care services, (b) for extending them, (c) for transposing them to new settings, (d) for starting preventive measures early in life, and (e) for inducing population-wide changes. However, community medicine has many limitations, calling for a better information base, and also calling for more epidemiological research.