Epidemiology in Public Health Practice

Book excerpt: Over the past decades, epidemiology has made a relevant contribution to public health by identifying health problems and analysing their determinants. Recent developments call for new and applied methods to support the planning, implementation and evaluation of public health policies and programmes. This book presents an integrated overview of such epidemiological methods, to be used within the joined working process of several public health disciplines. It provides relevant theories, concepts and tools, illustrated with practical examples in order to empower epidemiologists in public health.The first part of this book describes epidemiological history in a nutshell and explains the relationship with the public health domain. It closes with the presentation of a joint work cycle for policy, practice and research: the public health cycle.Part two presents seven steps epidemiologists should follow to strengthen their contribution to the public health cycle: conduct a needs assessment, support priority setting, formulate aims and objectives, construct a logic model, develop an evaluation plan, perform quality control, and analyse processes and outcomes.Part three illustrates the institutional architecture of public health and describes the professional fields of policy and health promotion as knowledge of these major fields facilitates interdisciplinary collaboration in each stage of the public health cycle.This book is intended for students and epidemiologists in public health practice. It was written by 20 Dutch authors with either longstanding experience or fresh enthusiasm. The editors are all affiliated with Academic Collaborative Centres for Public Health in the Netherlands, which aim to bridge the gap between policy, practice and research.