Introduction To Epidemiology

This text for advanced undergraduate and graduate students can also serve as a reference for epidemiologists working in the field, industrial hygienists, infectious disease nurses, and staff epidemiologists. Coverage progresses from foundations, disease concepts, and epidemiological measures of heal

Epidemiology/Biostatistics

The second edition of this essential introduction to epidemiology presents the core concepts in a unified approach that aims to cut through the fog and elucidate the fundamental concepts.

Today, the public worries about emerging diseases and rapid changes of the frequency of well known diseases like autism, diabetes and obesity making the word epidemic part of the general discussion. Epidemiology should therefore be a basic component of medical training, yet often it is undertaught or even neglected. Concise and readable while also rigorous and thorough, An Introduction to Epidemiology for Health Professionals goes beyond standard textbook content to ground the reader in scientific methods most relevant to the current health landscape and the evolution of evidence-based medicine—valuable keys to better understanding of disease process, effective prevention, and targeted treatment.

What is epidemiology? What are the causes of a new disease? How can pandemics be prevented? Epidemiology is the study of the changing patterns of disease and its main aim is to improve the health of populations. It's a vital field, central to the health of society, to the identification of causes of disease, and to their management and prevention. Epidemiology has had an impact on many areas of medicine; from discovering the relationship between tobacco smoking and lung cancer, to the origin and spread of new epidemics. However, it is often poorly understood, largely due to misrepresentations in the media. In this Very Short Introduction Rodolfo Saracci dispels some of the myths surrounding the study of epidemiology. He provides a general explanation of the principles behind clinical trials, and explains the nature of basic statistics concerning disease. He also looks at the ethical and political issues related to obtaining and using information concerning patients, and trials involving placebos. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

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 text 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; assessing internal and external validity of results. With its consequentialist approach -- designing epidemiologic studies that aim to inform our understanding, and therefore improve public health -- Epidemiology Matters is an introductory text for the next generation of students in medicine and public health.

The new edition of this popular textbook remains a clear and practical introduction to epidemiology for students in all areas of health. By emphasising the role of epidemiology across a broad range of health monitoring and research, it gives students an understanding of the fundamental principles common to all areas of epidemiology. It also integrates the study of infectious and chronic diseases as well as public health and clinical epidemiology. Avoiding complex mathematics, it steps through the methods and potential problems underlying health data and reports, while maintaining a balance of rigour and clarity. The nuts-and-bolts of epidemiology are embedded in the wider international health perspective through recent and classical examples across different areas of health to engage students from a range of backgrounds. Concepts are illustrated with charts and graphs, and end-of-chapter questions test understanding (with answers provided). Online resources include further exercises, slides for teaching and useful weblinks.

The book is a comprehensive, self-contained introduction to the mathematical modeling and analysis of infectious diseases. It includes model building, fitting to data, local and global analysis techniques. Various types of deterministic dynamical models are considered: ordinary differential equation models, delay-differential equation models, difference equation models, age-structured PDE models and diffusion models. It includes various techniques for the computation of the basic reproduction number as well as approaches to the epidemiological interpretation of the reproduction number. MATLAB code is included to facilitate the data fitting and the simulation with age-structured models.