Changing Paradigms in Epidemiology: Catching up with Martha Rogers (Essay‪)‬

ABSTRACT A graduate nursing course in epidemiology led to questions about the relevance of the course to nursing and population-focused public health nursing practice. The search for an answer revealed issues with changing paradigms in epidemiology, and the need for that discipline to develop a theoretical base that is neither reductionist nor burdened with the biomedical model. This led to are view of the work of Martha Rogers, who began her nursing career as a public health nurse. A comparison of Rogers' works with the trends in epidemiology revealed parallels demonstrating that Rogers knew decades ago what epidemiology, as a discipline, is just beginning to appreciate.