Essentials of Epidemiology in Public Health

by Aschengrau, Ann

• ISBN13: 9780763725372
• ISBN10: 0763725374
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-05-01
• Publisher: Jones & Bartlett

Summary

Second Edition Available June 2007! This innovative new text provides a current, comprehensive introduction to principles applied in the practice of epidemiology in public health. It incorporates modern ideas in epidemiological thinking that have been largely omitted in other textbooks, providing an overview that is up-to-date and thorough. Essentials of Epidemiology in Public Health will familiarize readers with terminology and key concepts in the design, analysis, and interpretation of epidemiological research, giving students the tools they need to critically evaluate scientific literature. Successfully tested in the authors' courses at Boston University and Harvard University for five years, this text combines theory and practice in presenting traditional and new epidemiologic concepts. Broad in scope, the text opens with five chapters covering the basic epidemiologic concepts and data sources. A major emphasis is placed on study design, with separate chapters devoted to each of the three main analytic designs: experimental, cohort, and case-control studies. Full chapters on bias, confounding, and random error, including the roll of statistics in epidemiology, ensure that students are well-equipped with the necessary information to interpret the results of epidemiologic studies. An entire chapter is also devoted to the concept of effect measure modification, an often-neglected topic in introductory textbooks. Up-to-date examples from the epidemiologic literature on diseases of public health importance are provided throughout the book.

Author Biography

George R. Seage III is currently Associate Professor of Epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health, and Director of the Interdisciplinary Concentration in Infectious Disease Epidemiology.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
The Approach and Evolution of Epidemiology	p. 1
Measures of Disease Frequency	p. 33
Comparing Disease Frequencies	p. 59
Sources of Public Health Data	p. 77
Descriptive Epidemiology	p. 99
Overview of Epidemiologic Study Designs	p. 139
Experimental Studies	p. 169
Cohort Studies	p. 201
Case-Control Studies	p. 229
Bias	p. 261
Confounding	p. 287
Random Error	p. 307
Effect Measure Modification	p. 343
Critical Review of Epidemiologic Studies	p. 357
The Epidemiologic Approach to Causation	p. 383
Screening in Public Health Practice	p. 411
Ethics in Research Involving Human Participants	p. 441
Answers to Chapter Questions	p. 459
Index	p. 479
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