BOOK REVIEWS |
Practical Psychiatric Epidemiology. Edited by Martin Prince, Robert Stewart, Tamsin Ford and Matthew Hotopf. Published by Oxford University Press, 2003. ISBN 10:0-19-851551-0 and 13:978-0-19-851551-7. Price: £39.95 (Paperback). 414 pp.
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Practical Psychiatric Epidemiology is edited by four authors working at the Institute of Psychiatry in London, all of whom previously studied epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical medicine.
The 20 contributing authors come from similar backgrounds in psychiatry and epidemiology and are able to present a practical approach to epidemiology in the clinical psychiatric setting. The stated aim of the text is to adapt the methods used in teaching generic epidemiology to the special circumstances of psychiatry with the intention that the book will be used as a study guide rather than a definitive text.
The book is divided into four sections with chapters progressing through the principles of epidemiology. The sections are divided into basic principles of epidemiology, study design, interpretation of statistics and special topics. Each subject area is illustrated with practical examples with interesting self-assessment exercises at the end of each chapter.
Epidemiology describes the extent and pattern of health problems while explaining the findings. In the occupational setting there are often limits to available epidemiological evidence and critical interpretation is important. The chapter on study design covers the methodology behind cross-sectional surveys, case–control studies and cohort studies enabling the reader to grasp the issues in setting up, reviewing and interpreting such studies. This offers an opportunity for occupational physicians to understand the principles which may be applied in everyday interpretation of data and evidence.
The special topics section is equally useful in the exploration of issues of genetic epidemiology as well as the health economic aspects of research. Both these special areas are transferable to current research questions in occupational medicine.
The text is informative and readable and would be of interest to those training in occupational medicine particularly while preparing for examinations or developing research hypotheses. The book draws on contributions from a wide range of authors with each chapter referenced to published peer reviewed literature. It is edited to be a readable text and achieves its aim in that it would be a useful learning guide for anyone initiating training or research in psychiatry or occupational medicine.
Purchase for academics; borrow for general occupational physicians.
Rating
(Borrow from the library) For occupational health physicians (OHPs).
(Buy, read and keep) For academic OHPs.
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