The second edition of this internationally acclaimed title is the ideal handbook for those involved in conducting epidemiological research. The objective of most epidemiological studies is to relate exposure to putative causal agents to the occurrence of a particular disease. The achievement of this objective depends critically on accurate measurement of exposure. This book reviews principles and techniques that can be applied to measuring a wide range of exposures, including demographic, behavioral, medical, genetic, and environmental factors. The book covers questionnaire design, conducting personal interviews, abstracting information from medical records, use of proxy respondents, and measurements from human specimens and in the environment. It gives a comprehensive account of measurement error and the estimation of its effects, and the design, analysis, and interpretation of validity and reliability studies. Emphasis is given to the ways in which the validity of measurements can be increased. Techniques to maximize participation of subjects in epidemiological studies are discussed, and ethical issues relevant to exposure measurement are outlined.

This User’s Guide is a resource for investigators and stakeholders who develop and review observational comparative effectiveness research protocols. It explains how to (1) identify key considerations and best practices for research design; (2) build a protocol based on these standards and best practices; and (3) judge the adequacy and completeness of a protocol. Eleven chapters cover all aspects of research design, including: developing study objectives, defining and refining study questions, addressing the heterogeneity of treatment effect, characterizing exposure, selecting a comparator, defining and measuring outcomes, and identifying optimal data sources. Checklists of guidance and key considerations for protocols are provided at the end of each chapter. The User’s Guide was created by researchers affiliated with AHRQ’s Effective Health Care Program, particularly those who participated in AHRQ’s DEcIDE (Developing Evidence to Inform Decisions About Effectiveness) program. Chapters were subject to multiple internal and external independent reviews. More more information, please consult the Agency website: www.effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov)

First edition published in 2002. Second edition published in 2008.

The objective of much epidemiological research is to relate exposure to external agents to the occurrence of particular diseases. This work covers the principles and techniques of exposure measurement as they relate specifically to causes of non-infectious diseases.

This completely updated edition of Exposure Assessment in Environmental Epidemiology offers a practical introduction to exposure assessment methodologies in environmental epidemiologic studies. In addition to methods for traditional methods -- questionnaires, biomonitoring -- this new edition is expanded to include geographic information systems, modeling, personal sensoring, remote sensing, and OMICs technologies. In addition, each of these methods is contextualized within a recent epidemiology study, maximizing illustration for students and those new to these to these techniques. With clear writing and extensive illustration, this book will be useful to anyone interested in exposure assessment, regardless of background.

In the late 1980s, the National Cancer Institute initiated an investigation of cancer risks in populations near 52 commercial nuclear power plants and 10 Department of Energy nuclear facilities (including research and nuclear weapons production facilities and one reprocessing plant) in the United States. The results of the NCI investigation were used a primary resource for communicating with the public about the cancer risks near the nuclear facilities. However, this study is now over 20 years old. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission requested that the National Academy of Sciences provide an updated assessment of cancer risks in populations near USNRC-licensed nuclear facilities that utilize or process uranium for the production of electricity. Analysis of Cancer Risks in Populations near Nuclear Facilities: Phase 1 focuses on identifying scientifically sound approaches for carrying out an assessment of cancer risks associated with living near a nuclear facility, judgments about the strengths and weaknesses of various statistical power, ability to assess potential confounding factors, possible biases, and required effort. The results from this Phase 1 study will be used to inform the design of cancer risk assessment, which will be carried out in Phase 2. This report is beneficial for the general public, communities near nuclear facilities, stakeholders, healthcare providers, policy makers, state and local officials, community leaders, and the media.

A basic textbook addressed to medical and public health students, clinicians, health professionals, and all others seeking to understand the principles and methods used in cancer epidemiology. Written by a prominent epidemiologist and experienced teacher at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the text aims to help readers become competent in the use of basic epidemiological tools and capable of exercising critical judgment when assessing results reported by others. Throughout the text, a lively writing style and numerous illustrative examples, often using real research data, facilitate an easy understanding of basic concepts and methods. Information ranges from an entertaining account of the origins of epidemiology, through advice on how to overcome some of the limitations of survival analysis, to a checklist of questions to ask when considering sources of bias. Although statistical concepts and formulae are presented, the emphasis is consistently on the interpretation of the data rather than on the actual calculations. The text has 18 chapters. The first six introduce the basic principles of epidemiology and statistics. Chapters 7-13 deal in more depth with each of the study designs and interpretation of their findings. Two chapters, concerned with the problems of confounding and study size, cover more complex statistical concepts and are included for advanced study. A chapter on methodological issues in cancer prevention gives examples of epidemiology's contribution to primary prevention, screening and other activities for early detection, and tertiary prevention. The concluding chapters review the role of cancer registries and discuss practical considerations that should be taken into account in the design, planning, and conduct of any type of epidemiological research.

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.

A Certain Kind of Wisdom In Plato’s Apology, the Greek philosopher Socrates is on trial to defend himself against the allegation of corrupting the youth of Athens. Socrates denies this charge and offers an alternate reason for why he is on trial. He explains, “[w]hat has caused my reputation is none other than a certain kind of wisdom. What kind of wisdom? Human wisdom, perhaps(1). ” He proceeds to tell the story of his friend Chaerophon, who once asked the Oracle at Delphi whether there was anyone wiser than Socrates. The Oracle answered that there was not. Socrates did not agree and thought that he would try to prove the Oracle wrong. And so he set about seeking out Athenians with a reputation for wisdom in various regards in order to test their claims to knowledge through questioning. He discovered many with false claims to knowledge and none with genuine wisdom and ultimately concluded that he was the wisest. He reached this conclusion not because of any special knowledge he possessed that others did not, but rather because he recognized his own lack of knowledge and strived to learn more, while others thought that they were kno- edgeable but were not. Socrates’ conclusion that there is wisdom in recognizing the limitations of accepted knowledge represents the motivation for this book.

Based on the concept of “conjecture and refutation” from the Popperian philosophy of science, i.e. looking for alternative causes, this book simplifies the design and inferences of human observational studies into two types: descriptive and causal. It clarifies how and why causal inference should be considered from the search for alternative explanations or causes, and descriptive inference from the sample at hand to the source population. Furthermore, it links the health policy and epidemiological concept with decisional questions, for which the basic measurement can be quality-adjusted survival time or quality-adjusted life year.