Abstract
In this chapter, we present tools that can be used to monitor, measure, and interpret the impacts of our seas, coasts, and oceans on human health and well-being. This chapter begins with a primer on epidemiology that describes methods to detect and monitor diseases and then moves on to provide some relevant applications. We discuss the impact of natural disasters on public health; and describe using risk assessments to evaluate how coastal activities, e.g., fishing or swimming, might affect health. We discuss disease surveillance and prevention as well as emerging methods to investigate diseases associated with environmental exposures. We provide examples of human health databases that can be used to assess the public health impacts from our oceans, seas, and coasts and how animals may be sentinels for environmental health risks. Finally, we discuss methods to measure environmental impacts on human well-being.