Incidence vs. Prevalence: Risk or Burden?
Distinguish incidence from prevalence and choose the right interpretation for workplace health data.
Do not let a burden number pretend to be a risk number. Incidence counts new cases in a defined population over a defined period. Prevalence counts all existing cases at a point or across a period. Both matter, but they answer different decisions. The Mechanism Incidence behaves like inflow. It rises when people newly become cases. Prevalence behaves like the water level in a tank. It rises when incidence is high, when cases last longer, or when people stay in the measured population while ill. That is why a chronic condition can have stable incidence and rising prevalence. The Workplace…
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