Epidemiology is the study of surveillance of diseases and threats to public health and raising public awareness to maintain health and safety. Surveillance is important to obtain data, perform statistical analyses, and determine severity and prevalence. From there, appropriate measures can be taken to provide solutions and control the disease. We say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The areas of this field vary however; monitoring is carried out for infectious diseases, such as COVID-19, chronic diseases, similar to diabetes, and environmental effects that could result from pollution. This field has continued to grow and received a lot of attention last year with the fall of COVID-19. One aspect of growth has to do with the technology involved and how it drives change. Through the use of current technology and the expansion it supports, the field of epidemiology will undergo changes and impact society by examining how data is collected and entered into databases. Data collected from surveillance is entered into a database to become evaluable to researchers or the public in the form of electronic health records. Much of this data is initially entered and passed through various healthcare providers to local health departments to move up the chain. Looking at environmental epidemiology, new technologies are ready to be used to make reporting simpler and more assessable. Sensors can be deployed alongside satellites to track air pollutants and detect exposure. One type of sensor is a personal sensor that can be connected to a smartphone app to monitor personal data such as heart rate or blood chemistry values ​​and compare them to the environment; this could be widely available if made cheaper. These aforementioned technologies already exist to some extent, but need updates to refine the resolution quality and need to be increased in number. The potential of "smart cities" is among us thanks to sensors for cities, cars and houses. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay With these increases in technology and the future holds, Lau et al. has concerns for the field and upcoming epidemiologists. If technology can collect data, perform analysis, and be readily available, this can take away substantial skills and knowledge that professionals will no longer rely on as much. One skill, in particular, is communication. Lack of communication limits creativity in knowledge and therefore hinders the competence of future professionals. Additionally, limited communication often leads to misinformation and false claims. Continuing education is essential to apply your career to better interpret the surveillance data presented. These technological advances with databases seem promising but leave behind a negative impact that will need to be taken into account.