Epidemiology: Principles and Practical Guidelines

by Jan Van den Broeck, Jonathan R Brestoff

Overview

This textbook presents epidemiology in a practical manner, contextualized with discussions of theory and ethics, so that students and professionals from all academic backgrounds may develop a deep appreciation for how to conduct and interpret epidemiological research. Readers will develop skills to: -Search for and appraise literature critically, -Develop important research questions, -Design and implement studies to address those questions, -Perform and interpret fundamental statistical estimations and tests, -Consider the ethical implications of all stages of research, -Report findings in publications, and -Advocate for change in the public health setting. Epidemiology is and will remain a discipline in motion, and this textbook aims at reflecting this dynamism and keeping pace with its momentum. This textbook is not only a classroom tool with high utility but also an essential reference and guide for those engaging in research involving human subjects.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9789400798571
Publisher:	Springer Netherlands
Publication date:	05/19/2015
Edition description:	2013
Pages:	621
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.05(d)

Table of Contents

Preface.- Part I Introduction.- Definition and Scope of Epidemiology.- Basic Concepts in Epidemiology.- Roots and Future of Epidemiology.- Part II Study Design.- General Study Objectives.- The Specific Aims.- General Study Designs.- Study Size Planning. Sponsoring and Stakeholder Involvement.- The Recruitment and Enrollment Plan.- The Measurement Plan.- The Quality Assurance and Control Plan.- The Data Management Plan.- The Analysis Plan.- Ethics Support.- Part III Study Conduct.- Training and Study Preparations.- Managing the Informed Consent Process.- Accrual, Retention and Adherence.- Questionnaires.- Maintaining Data Integrity.- Data Cleaning.- Good Clinical Practice.- Part IV:  Study Analysis.- Statistical Estimation.- Statistical Testing.- Statistical Modeling.- Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses.- The Ethics of Study Analysis.- Part V Study Reporting.- Interpretation of Findings.- Scientific Writing.- Reporting Data Quality.- Dissemination to Stakeholders.- The Ethics ofStudy Reporting.- Bibliography.- Subject Index.

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Ousmane Diallo, MD MPH, PhD (c)(University of Iowa College of Public Health)
Description: Representing a departure from typical field epidemiology books, this book follows the logical stages of a research project while introducing the major epidemiological concepts and practices. In the era of overly used logical models, the book borrows from the experience of theoretical model conceptualization to present the concepts in an appealing format with beautiful color graphs and figures.
Purpose: The purpose is to help readers become proficient in developing and interpreting research by identifying key research questions, designing studies to answer those questions, and communicating those results while integrating ethics into every step of the process. For students and practitioners such as field epidemiologists, this book is very important. By following the book to the letter, with appropriate support, investigators may be able to understand what they need to start and finalize a research. For that purpose, this book meets its objectives.
Audience: According to the authors, this book targets anyone involved in research. However, it is most appropriate for epidemiology students working on their dissertations or researchers (MD, resident) who want to start a research project.
Features: The book starts by placing epidemiology in its place as the driving force of public health. With the already trained researcher in mind, it provides a concise review of epidemiology's basic principles, its tenets, and its core toolkit for defining the different levels of populations, quantifying diseases, and determining the relationship between exposures and outcomes while identifying fundamental threats. Using easy-to-read text and well conceived colorful figures and graphs, the book makes the research process accessible and less daunting to new researchers and reaffirms statistical concepts and methodologies when they intervene in the research process. Two important innovative subjects are introduced: electronic health records and cost analysis. As the U.S. move towards consolidating electronic health records and cutting funding to public health, researchers are armed with new concepts and methods to prove the value of their activities to stakeholders, which leads to the "epi-optimism" that the authors are fond of. However, by deciding to stray from well-established epidemiological nomenclature and introducing classifications not well proven or accepted may confuse readers trained in U.S. schools of public health. Since the book heavily borrows from the works of O. S. Miettinen (cited over 20 times), it is intriguing that the authors do not even mention what I consider the bible of epidemiology, Modern Epidemiology, revised 3rd edition, Rothman et al. (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2008).
Assessment: This is a very interesting book because of its practical nature and thoroughness for field epidemiologists. It is an excellent addition to epidemiology advanced courses (level III) for PhD students. Compared to the Rothman, this one is easier to grasp. However, students who were trained using Rothman will find this book very accessible because of the strong epidemiology foundation that the Rothman provides.

Doody's Review Service

From the reviews:

“This book follows the logical stages of a research project while introducing the major epidemiological concepts and practices. … For students and practitioners such as field epidemiologists, this book is very important. … it is most appropriate for epidemiology students working on their dissertations or researchers (MD, resident) who want to start a research project. … This is a very interesting book because of its practical nature and thoroughness for field epidemiologists. It is an excellent addition to epidemiology advanced courses … for PhD students.” (Ousmane Diallo, Doody’s Book Reviews, July, 2013)

From the Publisher