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. |