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Epidemiology is a population science that underpins health improvement and health care, and is concerned with the pattern, frequency, trends, and causes of disease. This book teaches its applications to population health research, policy-making, health service planning, health promotion, and clinical care. The book emphasizes concepts and principles. In 10 chapters, the book explains what epidemiology is; illustrates the basis of epidemiology in populations; provides a framework for analysing diseases by time, place, and person; introduces error, bias, and confounding; explains how we move from association to causation; considers the natural history, spectrum, and iceberg of disease in relation to medical screening; discusses the acquisition and analysis of data on incidence and prevalence of risk factors and diseases; shows the ways in which epidemiological data are presented, including relative and absolute risks; provides an integrated overview of study designs and the principles of data analysis; and considers the theoretical and ethical basis of epidemiology both in the past and the future. The emphasis is on interactive learning, with each chapter including learning objectives, theoretical and numerical exercises, questions and answers, and a summary. The text is illustrated, with detailed material in tables. The book is written in plain English, and the necessary technical and specialized terminology is explained and defined in a glossary. The book is for postgraduate courses in epidemiology, public health, and health policy. It is also suitable for clinicians, undergraduate students in medicine, nursing and other health disciplines, and researchers.Less

This second edition of Epidemiologic Methods offers a rigorous introduction to the concepts and tools of epidemiologic research. Aimed chiefly at future epidemiologists, it offers clear descriptions, practical examples, and question/answer sections for each of the science's key concepts. Authored by two award-winning epidemiology instructors, this online resource is organized around three main themes: general concepts and tools of epidemiology; major study designs; and special topics, including screening, outbreak investigations, and use of epidemiology to evaluate policies and programs. Less

Epidemiology Matters offers a new approach to understanding and identifying the causes of disease — and with it, how to prevent disease and improve human health. Utilizing visual explanations and examples, this title provides an accessible, step-by-step introduction to the fundamentals of epidemiologic study, from design to analysis. Across fourteen chapters, Epidemiology Matters teaches the individual competencies that underlie the conduct of an epidemiologic study: identifying populations; measuring exposures and health indicators; taking a sample; estimating associations between exposures and health indicators; assessing evidence for causes working together; and assessing internal and external validity of results.Less

Knowledge of the genetic basis of human diseases is growing rapidly, with important implications for pre-conception, prenatal, and predictive testing. While new genetic testing offers better insight into the causes of and susceptibility for heritable diseases, not all inherited diseases that can be predicted on the basis of genetic information can be treated or cured. By using a creative approach that focuses on a single extended family as a case example to illustrate each chapter's key point, the authors elucidate ethical issues arising in the genetics clinic and laboratory surrounding many timely issues, including prenatal and pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, assisted reproductive technologies, incidental findings in genetic testing, gene patenting, testing children for adult onset disorders, and direct-to-consumer testing. Less

Social epidemiology is the study of how the social world influences — and in many cases defines — the fundamental determinants of health. The generation of research that followed the publication of the first edition of this title has fundamentally changed the way we understand epidemiology and public health. This new edition of Social Epidemiology elevates the field again, first by codifying the last decade of research, then by extending it to examine how public policies impact health. The new edition includes 11 fully updated chapters, including entries on the links between health and discrimination, income inequality, social networks, and emotion, four all-new chapters on the role of policies in shaping health, including how to translate evidence into action with multi-level interventions, and updated references, detailing the best research over the last two decades.Less