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Finally,
in addition to the population and developmental perspectives described
in the previous sections, epidemiologists view the development
and maintenance of a condition in ecological perspective. By this
we mean that disease agents, characteristics of the host, and
characteristics of the environment are all important in whether
and how a condition manifests itself in a given person.
This perspective
is similar to the biopsychosocial perspective on pain, which suggests
that pain results from the dynamic interaction of biological,
psychological and social factors. An example of a possible agent
would be an injury to the jaw, host factor examples might be gender
and genetic make up, and environmental factors might include degree
of family support and stressfulness of the work environment.
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