Epidemiology Kept Simple introduces the epidemiological principles and methods that are increasingly important in the practice of medicine and public health. With minimum use of technical language it fully explains terminology, concepts, and techniques associated with traditional and modern epidemiology. Topics include disease causality, epidemiologic measures, descriptive epidemiology, study design, clinical and primary prevention trials, observational cohort studies, case-control studies, and the consideration of random and systematic error in studies of causal factors. Chapters on the infectious disease process, outbreak investigation, and screening for disease are also included. The latter chapters introduce more advanced biostatistical and epidemiologic techniques, such as survival analysis, Mantel-Haenszel techniques, and tests for interaction.

 

This third edition addresses all the requirements of the American Schools of Public Health (ASPH) Epidemiological Competencies, and provides enhanced clarity and

readability on this difficult subject. Updated with new practical exercises, case studies and real world examples, this title helps you develop the necessary tools to interpret epidemiological data and prepare for board exams, and now also includes review questions at the end of each chapter.

 

Epidemiology Kept Simple continues to provide an introductory guide to the use of epidemiological methods for graduate and undergraduate students studying public health, health education and nursing, and for all practicing health professionals seeking professional development. 

1 Epidemiology Past and Present 1

 

2 Causal Concepts 36

 

3 Epidemiologic Measures 66

 

4 Descriptive Epidemiology 104

 

5 Introduction to Epidemiologic Study Design 126

 

6 Experimental Studies 142

 

7 Observational Cohort Studies 159

 

8 Case–Control Studies 180

 

9 Error in Epidemiologic Research 201

 

10 Screening for Disease 222

 

11 The Infectious Disease Process 255

 

12 Outbreak Investigation 271

 

13 Confidence Intervals and p-Values 302

 

14 Mantel–Haenszel Methods 323

 

15 Statistical Interaction: Effect Measure Modification 337

 

16 Case Definitions and Disease Classification 347

 

17 Survival Analysis 356

 

18 Current Life Tables 373

 

19 Random Distribution of Cases in Time and Space 385

 

Answers to Exercises and Review Questions 398

 

Appendix 1: 95% Confidence Limits for Poisson Counts 434

 

Appendix 2: Tail Areas in the Standard Normal (Z) Distribution: Double These Areas for Two-Sided p-Values 436

 

Appendix 3: Right-Tail Areas in Chi-Square Distributions 439

 

Appendix 4: Case Study—Cigarette Smoking and Lung Cancer 441

 

Appendix 5: Case Study—Tampons and Toxic Shock Syndrome 448

 

Index 455