ABSTRACT
The first stage of the Public Health Problem-Solving Model is called Problem Identification. The Public Health Problem-Solving Model utilizes an epidemiological approach to study risk and protective factors for populations. An epidemiological approach to problem identification focuses on population-wide indicators to identify who within the population has a problem, when such problems exist, where they exist, and why they exist. The tools of epidemiology fall into two broad categories, both of which are covered in most psychological statistics courses: data collection and summarization, and inferential statistics. Data collection and summarization typically are used to provide information within the framework of descriptive epidemiology, whereas inferential statistics are the major implements of analytic epidemiology. As suggested by its label, the purpose of descriptive epidemiology is to provide objective information about a condition. Although several types of rates are calculated in descriptive epidemiology, perhaps the most important rate for applying the public health model to school mental health is morbidity.
