A matrix for bridging the epidemiology and risk assessment gap

Environmental epidemiologic research provides invaluable information for understanding the relationship between environmental exposures and health outcomes. Chemical risk assessment, a foundation of public health decision-making, benefits from having information from various disciplines including epidemiology. While epidemiology and risk assessment have common goals of understanding and reducing human health impacts associated with exposure to environmental chemicals, each discipline utilizes different terminologies and skill sets. This contributes to the challenges faced when seeking to use human data in risk assessment. For over twenty years, scientists have recognized that dialogue between risk assessors and epidemiologists is crucial, although to date no specific path forward has been developed for this purpose. This need for communication motivated the organization of a workshop to explore the question “What do risk assessors need in order to be able to improve the value of epidemiologic research for use in decision-making?” This paper describes the outcome of the workshop, specifically a Matrix designed as a communication tool. The Matrix includes a description of key elements that when included in epidemiology design and/or reporting enhance the use of epidemiology results for a risk assessment. The Matrix is not intended to supplant best practices for environmental epidemiology or existing frameworks on integrating multidisciplinary data. Rather, the goal of the Matrix is to improve understanding and communication between the disciplines. Bridging the gap between epidemiology and risk assessment will enrich both disciplines and enhance public health decision-making.