Some aspects of the use of household surveys in research into the health-sickness process and in the teaching of Epidemiology are discussed. A brief report is made of some experiments in teaching and research, related to household surveys, carried out by the Department of Social Medicine of the School of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of S. Paulo and by the Department of Preventive and Social Medicine of the School of Medical Sciences, University of Campinas. The great potencial of this type of investigation for the knowledge of the health conditions of social classes and for the development of Epidemiology is pointed out by the authors. The importance of these surveys for the teaching of Epidemiology for graduate and post-graduate students is emphasized.
Epidemiology; Household interview methods; Morbidity