Synopses & Reviews
Dictionary making never ends because languages are always changing. Widely used throughout the world, this book will continue to serve as the standard English-language dictionary of epidemiology in its Fourth Edition. It covers all the common terms used in epidemiology and many from related fields such as biostatistics, infectious disease control, health promotion, genetics, clinical epidemiology, health economics, and medical ethics. The definitions are clear and concise, but there is space for some brief essays and discussions of the provenance of important terms. Sponsored by the International Epidemiological Association, the dictionary represents the consensus of epidemiologists in many different countries. All the definitions were reviewed repeatedly by an international network of contributors from every major branch of epidemiology. They are authoritative without being authoritarian. The Fourth Edition contains well over 150 new entries and substantial revisions of about the same number of definitions, plus a dozen new illustrations. Many of the new terms relate to methods used in environmental and clinical epidemiology.
Review
"Like its prior editions, this is the gold standard for the field and has the endorsement of the International Epidemiological Association. It is worth replacing the prior edition on the shelf with this one." --Doody's
Review
"This dictionary is a crucial addtion to any library or epidemiologist's bookshelf."--CHOICE
"...the Fifth Edition of A Dictionary of Epidemiology is an important and welcome source of authoritative information. It will undoubtedly be widely consulted by students, health practitioners and researchers in a multitude of social sciences and health-related disciplines."--Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy
"The Dictionary can be of interest to a wide audience of people, scientists or not, who either just discovered or are familiar with epidemiology. This short and handy dictionary is definitely a creative knowledge object."--Preventive Medicine
"This is an absolute mine of information... The reach of this book is enormous and I for one will always have it on the lowest of my book shelves within easy reach... This is an excellent way of refreshing, revising and reminding yourself when memory has faded a little. It is in short a must have for any serious epidemiologist or student of epidemiology.."--Public Health
"....a good first reference to arbitrate discussions of definition. New students found definitions from the book to be approachable and quite clear. Students further along in their studies appreciated the straightforward definitions."--American Journal of Epidemiology
"...an important and welcome source of authoritative information. It will undoubtedly be widely consulted by students, health practitioners and researchers in a multitude of social sciences and health-related disciplines."--Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy
Synopsis
The new, completely revised, and updated edition of this classic text --sponsored by the International Epidemiological Association (IEA) and previously edited by John Last-- remains the definitive dictionary in epidemiology worldwide. In fact, with contributions from over 220 epidemiologists and other users of epidemiology from around the globe, it is more than a dictionary: it includes explanations and comments on both core epidemiologic terms and on other scientific terms relevant to all professionals in clinical medicine and public health, as well as to professionals in the other health, life, and social sciences. Anyone seeking clarity on epidemiologic and methodological definitions important to human health will find it here. On the eve of a field trip to a foreign land, a health scientist remarked that if he had to limit his professional library to one volume on epidemiology, this would be the book he would choose.
About the Author
Miquel Porta, Professor of Preventive MedicineandPublic Health, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona; Senior scientist, Institut Municipal d'Investigacio Medica (IMIM), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain; and Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill