Descriptive epidemiology seeks to answer which types of questions?

• A. Why and how
• B. Who, what, where, when
• C. In what laboratory environment
• D. What is the genetic sequence

Answer: (B)

Descriptive epidemiology describes how health events are distributed in a population across person, place, and time. It seeks to answer who is affected (characteristics like age, sex, race, risk factors), what (the disease or outcome being studied), where (geographic location or setting), and when (the time period or season). This approach helps reveal patterns and generate hypotheses for further study. It isn’t about why or how the disease occurs, which is the domain of analytic epidemiology, nor is it about laboratory environments or genetic sequences.