Epidemiology : An Introduction

by Moon, Graham; Gould, Myles; Moon, Graham

• ISBN13: 9780335200122
• ISBN10: 0335200125
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-08-01
• Publisher: Open University Press
• More Book Details
• Purchase Benefits

Summary

This accessible and clearly-structured book offers a comprehensive insight into the methods and principles of epidemiological study alongside an analysis of the broad context in which epidemiological work is undertaken. Chapters on sources of epidemiological data, on epidemiological study designs and on basic statistical measures for epidemiological studies are used to introduce the reader to the traditional underpinnings of epidemiological work. Attention then shifts to a wider canvas. Consideration is given to the critical reading of epidemiological research both as a way of demonstrating how different aspects of epidemiological study come together in published work and as the basis for a discussion of the centrality of epidemiological research in the development of evidence-based health care. The key facets of evidence-based health care are assessed. A more discursive and critical assessment of epidemiology is also presented in which attention is drawn to the need to develop alternative epidemiologies which draw on lay knowledge and recognise the socio-political context of factors influencing health status. The book concludes with a description of the everyday practice of epidemiology in a UK health authority context.

Author Biography

Graham Moon is Professor of Health Services Research at the Institute for the Geography of Health, University of Portsmouth. His current research interests focus on the geographies of health related behaviour, particularly, smoking and drinking, and the geographies of primary health care reforms.

Myles Gould is lecturer in geography at the Department of Geography, University of Leeds. His research interests focus on the quantative analysis of secondary information on health and health care.

Table of Contents

Series editor's preface	viii
Preface	ix
Notes on the authors	x
Abbreviations used in this book	xi
What is epidemiology?	1	(10)
Epidemiology defined	2	(4)
Population medicine	2	(1)
The language of quantification	3	(2)
Practicality and applicability	5	(1)
Interdisciplinarity	6	(1)
Types of epidemiology	6	(2)
This book	8	(1)
Summary	8	(1)
Further reading	9	(1)
Activities	9	(2)
Part 1 The design and analysis of epidemiological studies	11	(94)
Epidemiological information	13	(19)
Collecting epidemiological data	13	(2)
Secondary routine data	15	(13)
Population data	16	(6)
Vital statistics	22	(3)
Morbidity	25	(3)
Social surveys	28	(1)
Conclusion	29	(1)
Summary	30	(1)
Further reading	30	(1)
Activities	31	(1)
Patterns of disease	32	(21)
Descriptive epidemiology	32	(1)
Cross-sectional analysis	33	(2)
Data analysis in cross-sectional studies	35	(7)
Prevalence and incidence	37	(1)
Making comparisons	38	(4)
Statistical inference	42	(1)
Case study: ischaemic heart disease	42	(9)
Variations in the distribution of IHD	45	(4)
Risk factors	49	(1)
Impact on policy	50	(1)
Conclusion	51	(1)
Summary	51	(1)
Further reading	51	(1)
Activities	52	(1)
Principles and experiments	53	(17)
Causation and causality	54	(1)
Threats to validity	55	(4)
Bias	55	(1)
Confounding	56	(3)
Random error	59	(1)
Experimental study designs	59	(8)
Randomized clinical trials	60	(4)
Community trials	64	(2)
Experiments of opportunity	66	(1)
Conclusion	67	(1)
Summary	68	(1)
Further reading	68	(1)
Activities	69	(1)
Observational studies and design choices	70	(16)
Observational designs	71	(9)
Cohort designs	72	(3)
Case-comparison designs	75	(5)
Choosing between designs	80	(2)
Conclusion	82	(1)
Summary	83	(1)
Further reading	83	(1)
Activities	83	(3)
The epidemiological analysis of tabular data	86	(19)
Risk and odds	87	(9)
Absolute risk and odds	87	(1)
Relative risk	88	(5)
Attributable risk	93	(2)
Risk and statistical inference	95	(1)
Analysing confounding	96	(4)
Beyond stratification analyses	98	(2)
Conclusion	100	(1)
Summary	100	(1)
Further reading	101	(1)
Activities	101	(4)
Part 2 Assessing and applying epidemiology	105	(62)
Putting the parts together	107	(17)
A schema for evaluating epidemiological research	108	(3)
childhood cancer and the nuclear industry	111	(6)
The Sellafield cohort studies	112	(2)
The Sellafield case-comparison study	114	(3)
the confounding of occupation and smoking	117	(4)
Smoking and occupation	117	(1)
Descriptive epidemiologies	118	(1)
From technical to cultural	119	(2)
respiratory disease and the North American mining industry	121	(1)
Conclusion	122	(1)
Summary	122	(1)
Further reading	123	(1)
Activities	123	(1)
Evidence-based health care	124	(18)
Background	125	(1)
Finding evidence	125	(2)
Types of evidence	127	(3)
Systematic reviews	130	(1)
Meta-analysis	131	(4)
Appraising published research evidence	135	(3)
Conclusion	138	(1)
Summary	139	(1)
Further reading	140	(1)
Activities	140	(2)
Bringing in context and people	142	(14)
The epistemological context of modern epidemiology	143	(2)
Critical epidemiology	145	(4)
Lay epidemiology	149	(4)
Conclusion	153	(1)
Summary	154	(1)
Further reading	155	(1)
Activities	155	(1)
The practice of epidemiology	156	(11)
Annual milestones	156	(8)
Priorities and Planning Guidance and the corporate contract	157	(1)
The Common Information Core	158	(1)
Formal health authority meetings	159	(1)
The annual report on the health of the population	159	(2)
Project-based work	161	(3)
Conclusion	164	(1)
Summary	165	(1)
Further reading	166	(1)
Activities	166	(1)
Appendix: Inferential statistics	167	(1)
Glossary	168	(5)
References	173	(10)
Index	183