Healthy Chicago Podcast: Epidemiology - Making sense of public health data from different sources

An epidemiologist from Chicago’s Public Health Department and friend of the show Peter DeJonge stopped by to get in the weeds – and the sewers – to talk about epidemiology and wastewater surveillance. Peter describes epidemiology as a population-level study of patterns, trends, and different characteristics of disease, whether that’s infectious, chronic, or broader health issues. Peter and Brian discuss the differences in their day-to-day jobs as an epidemiologist and clinician in public health. They also touch on a new addition to epidemiology—sampling Chicago’s wastewater—and how it complements other sources of public health information in the city, leading to improved decision-making.