Epidemiologists rely on biology ( to better understand disease processes ) , biostatistics ( the current raw information available ) , Geographic Information Science ( to store data and map disease patterns ) and social science disciplines ( to better understand proximate and distal risk factors ) . Epidemiologists rely on a number of other scientific disciplines such as biology ( to better understand disease processes ) , biostatistics ( the current raw information available ) and social science disciplines ( to better understand proximate and distal risk factors ) .