An Overview of Epidemiology Education in Iran

Epidemiology is generally defined as the basic science and art of disease prevention and health promotion. Historically, it began with the accounting of death in major epidemics in the Middle Ages. Over the years, it has evolved into the basic science and art of dealing with mass phenomena of disease occurrence and public health. It is now gaining eminence in dealing with all kinds of mass phenomena beyond disease and public health.
Prior to the 1970s when teaching of epidemiology became a distinct training in academia, most epidemiologists were highly experienced practitioners of infectious and parasitic diseases and drew from their vast experiences in suggesting interventions for infectious disease control. With the prominence of non-infectious and chronic diseases, the need for special training with particular emphasis on biostatistics became apparent and has extensively developed to the present state. In Iran, epidemiological practice and training began with the national efforts in combating the main scourges of Malaria, Trachoma, Schistosoma infestation, cholera, and other diseases that impacted the country with high endemicity and regular epidemic outbreaks. This brief paper describes the development of epidemiology training in Iran in more detail.