Epidemiologic research can be complex, yet its principles remain simple. The field's complexity arises from the need for many special skills, including clinical practice, biological understanding, statistical exper tise, and the ability to design and conduct epidemiologic studies. Written from a combined perspective of clinical medicine and biostatistics, Epidemiology in Medicine teaches the principles on which these skills are based.

Epidemiology in Medicine discusses the methods of epidemiologic study design and analysis, and illustrates its discussion with many timely clinical and public health examples. The text is organized in four sections: Part I considers the definition, scope, and history of epidemiology; the fundamental strategies of epidemiologic research; the framework for assessing valid statistical associations and making judg ments of causality; and basic measures of disease frequency and association. This section is a comprehensive overview of all the basic principles and methods used in epidemiologic research. Part II consists of detailed discussions of the various types of study design as well as their particular strengths and limitations. Part III addresses issues in the analysis of epidemiologic data, including use of description statistics as well as methods for the evaluation and control of chance, bias, and confounding in assess- ing the presence of a valid statistical asso- ciation. Part IV provides an example of the application of epidemiologic principles and methods to disease control in the context of screening programs.