Epidemiologists use various methods to study contextual differences:
1. Surveillance Systems: Continuous collection, analysis, and interpretation of health data help in identifying trends and outbreaks in different contexts.
2. Cohort Studies: Following a group of people over time to study how different exposures affect the incidence of diseases.
3. Case-Control Studies: Comparing individuals with a disease (cases) to those without (controls) to identify risk factors.
4. Cross-Sectional Studies: Observing a population at a single point in time to determine the prevalence of diseases and associated risk factors.
