Main description:

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.

Contents:

1. An introduction ; 2. What is a population and what is population health? ; 3. What is an exposure, what is a disease, and how do we measure them? ; 4. What is a sample? ; 5. Watching a sample, counting cases ; 6. Are exposures associated with health indicators? ; 7. What is a cause? ; 8. Is the association causal, or are there alternative explanations? ; 9. How do non-causal associations arise? ; 10. How can we mitigate against non-causal associations in design and analysis? ; 11. When do causes work together? ; 12. Do the results matter beyond the study sample? ; 13. How do we identify disease early to minimize its consequences? ; 14. Conclusion: Epidemiology and what matters most