Essentials of Epidemiology in Public Health, Fourth Edition, introduces the methods used to study disease in populations. Ann Aschengrau and George R. Seage III connect frequency measures, study designs, bias, confounding, effect modification, screening, and causal reasoning with public health examples for students and researchers beginning epidemiologic study.
Digital ebook. No physical book.
The text begins with the scope of epidemiology and the measures used to describe disease frequency. Incidence, prevalence, and mortality provide a basis for comparing populations and understanding the questions different study designs can address. Cohort, case-control, cross-sectional, and ecological approaches are examined through public health applications.
Later topics address selection and information bias, confounding, effect modification, and causal inference. Screening concepts connect sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values with interpretation, while ethical considerations place research methods in their human context. The fourth edition suits introductory MPH coursework and readers from clinical research or public health practice who want a structured account of how epidemiologic evidence is produced and evaluated.
An introduction to the methods used to study disease in populations. Aschengrau and Seage connect measures of frequency, study designs, bias, confounding, effect modification, screening, and causal reasoning to public health examples, giving students and researchers a structured way to produce and evaluate epidemiologic evidence.
The text opens with the scope of epidemiology and the measures used to describe how often disease occurs. Incidence, prevalence, and mortality allow populations to be compared and clarify which questions a design can answer. Cohort, case-control, cross-sectional, and ecological approaches are examined through public health applications. Later material takes up selection and information bias, confounding, effect modification, and causal inference. Screening links sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values to interpretation, while ethics places methods in a human context. The fourth edition is organized for introductory graduate study.
Incidence, prevalence, and mortality are presented as distinct measures with different meanings and uses. The text shows how each is calculated and what comparisons it supports. Readers learn to choose a measure matching the question, then interpret what the resulting number does and does not reveal about a population.
Cohort, case-control, cross-sectional, and ecological designs are compared by what they can observe and what they cannot. The book relates design choice to timing, sampling, and the kind of association a study can estimate. Public health examples show why a design's limits shape interpretation, not just its strengths.
Systematic error is treated as something to anticipate rather than detect afterward. Selection and information bias are explained alongside confounding, with attention to how each distorts an observed association. Readers consider design and analytic responses instead of relying only on correction after data collection is complete.
The text separates effect modification from confounding and explains why the distinction changes interpretation. Causal reasoning is presented through criteria and judgment rather than a single test. Readers practice asking whether an association plausibly reflects cause within a particular population and study setting, and how that judgment should be qualified.
Screening concepts are built from sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values. The book shows how prevalence affects what a positive result means and why a good test can still mislead. Readers connect these ideas to program decisions and to how individuals should read their own results.
Research ethics and critical reading are treated as parts of method rather than add-ons. The text places studies in their human context and gives readers tools to assess published findings. The goal is informed judgment about evidence, not acceptance of reported conclusions at face value.
MPH students, clinical researchers, and practicing public health practitioners who need a structured introduction to epidemiologic methods, study design, and critical evaluation of published evidence.
Edition, audience, and study-guide details at a glance.
Essentials of Epidemiology in Public Health, Fourth Edition, introduces the methods used to study disease in populations. Ann Aschengrau and George R. Seage III connect frequency measures, study designs, bias, confounding, effect modification, screening, and causal reasoning with public health examples for students and researchers beginning epidemiologic study.
This listing is for the 4th edition. Check the title, ISBN, and book details above before ordering, especially if your course or reading list names a specific edition.
MPH students, clinical researchers, and practicing public health practitioners who need a structured introduction to epidemiologic methods, study design, and critical evaluation of published evidence.
Yes. This page includes an original study guide with six thematic sections, key takeaways, and a topic map for structured reading.