Intersection of Genealogy and Epidemiology: Making Epidemiology Personally Relevant by Examining a Family Tree

In a single family case study approach, analysis and of infant mortality, under-five mortality, maternal mortality and life spans among ancestors have been calculated. This allows for comparisons across centuries as well as comparison of the health status of immigrant families and their counterparts remaining in Europe.   The data sources include oral histories verified by US and Italian census records, US immigration records, vital statistics, burial and military records: n=2000, sources = 4000 records.  The family resided in a 500-acre village in Calabria, Italy.  Italian unification under Garibaldi and other social factors of the time triggered emigration to the United States among some family members from 1870-1920.  This historical research explores the hardship and poverty among immigrants in the United States and examines the parallel experiences of their family members in Italy.  This novel approach to teaching epidemiology and the history of public health brings the numbers to life. Paul Brodeur has said that “Statistics are human beings with the tears wiped off”.  Using this case study and teaching tool, the tears remain as infant and maternal mortality have names and faces attached.