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Epidemiology plays an all-important role in many areas of medicine, from discovering the relationship between tobacco smoking and lung cancer, to documenting the impact of diet, the environment, and exercise on general health, to tracking the origin and spread of new epidemics such as Swine Flu. It is truly a vital field, central to the health of society, but it is often poorly understood, largely due to misrepresentations in the media. In this Very Short Introduction, an internationally recognized authority on epidemiology, Dr. Rodolfo Saracci, provides a wealth of information on this key field, dispelling some of the myths surrounding the study of epidemiology, and explaining what epidemiology is and how vital it is to the discovery, control, and prevention of disease in world populations. Dr. Saracci 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.
1. What is epidemiology?
2. Measuring health and disease
3. Searching for the causes of diseases
4. Establishing the causes of a disease
5. Testing how to control a disease
6. Following-up people's health
7. Enquiring back into people's lives
8. Mapping health and disease
9. From epidemiology to medicine, prevention, and public health
10. Epidemiology between ethics and politics
Epidemiology is the study of factors affecting the health and illness of populations. However, the purpose of the epidemiology is not just the passive study of those illnesses from a purely intellectual viewpoint, but rather coming up with strategies and means of preventing and controlling the disease outbreaks. Furthermore, it is not necessary for those diseases to be microbial in nature. Cancer, heart disease, and even things like obesity fall under the purview of epidemiology.
This very short introduction deals with all major aspects of epidemiology. Its modern approach is up to date and the book does not fail to mention some of the recent headline-grabbing viral epidemics, like SARS and H1N1 ("swine flu"). The book pays detailed attention to the methodology of good epidemiological research, and tries to explain it in an accessible and readable way. There are numerous interesting and detailed graphs and charts throughout the book, but the book does not assume a high level of technical knowledge. It can be used as an introductory text to the vast epidemiological literature, or as a concise refresher of some key concepts. It can also serve as a useful reference book.
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Overview
Epidemiology plays an all-important role in many areas of medicine, from discovering the relationship between tobacco smoking and lung cancer, to documenting the impact of diet, the environment, and exercise on general health, to tracking the origin and spread of new epidemics such as Swine Flu. It is truly a vital field, central to the health of society, but it is often poorly understood, largely due to misrepresentations in the media. In this Very Short Introduction, an internationally recognized authority on ...