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Book Review: Essentials of Epidemiology in Public Health
Review of this generally accessible textbook
As I have been occupied with my research, textbooks have been a more frequent companion than Medium as I have been seeking to improve my knowledge to do better work. Given my recent desire to choose ideal sampling periods for data analysis, I read through the book Essentials of Epidemiology in Public Health by Ann Aschengrau and George R. Seage III, 2020. Both of the authors are public health specialists and thus well-suited to contribute to this textbook.
As one with a stronger background in epidemiology and public health, this book was less useful because it mainly focused on the more basic concepts of the fields. It reviewed the different clinical studies, basic measures used to describe populations and tests like sensitivity and specificity, and had extensive examples accompanying every topic. As one who has learned this material in the past, it was mostly review less useful for my own purposes.
However, this book could be invaluable for a more general audience. Epidemiology and public health are not necessarily the most easily understood topics. The math and observing society from a perspective not typically exercised can be challenging. For one with less background in these topics, such as an undergraduate student or…
