Discuss the use of descriptive and/or analytic epidemiology to address the practice problem.

Descriptive epidemiology is used to identify populations that may be at higher risk for a certain disease or condition. This can include things like studying patterns of illness, determining the frequency and distribution of cases in a given population, as well as identifying any trends related to age, sex, occupation etc. Descriptive epidemiological studies are useful when trying to identify potential factors contributing to an outbreak or when looking for potential areas of intervention such as designing public health campaigns.

Analytic epidemiology can then be used to further investigate these identified associations by conducting more in-depth research into their cause and effect relationships. This type of study uses methods such as cohort and case-control studies which allow researchers to establish stronger evidence for their conclusions regarding the association between different variables. Analytic epidemiological studies are important for understanding not only what contributes to an outbreak or problem but also how it might be prevented in the future.

Both descriptive and analytic epidemiology can be utilized when addressing practice problems; descriptive studies provide insight into what is happening while analytic ones allow professionals examine root causes behind any particular issue thus allowing them develop effective solutions based upon solid evidence instead relying solely on hunches intuition order achieve desired results whatever situation presents itself before them ultimately helping promote better well-being overall no matter scope challenge may be.