Synopsis
This book addresses both the theoretical and practical issues which arise when describing the geographical distribution of disease and investigating apparent disease clusters. Requirements in terms of population data, disease incidence and mortality are considered and related to the scale at which a study is being carried out. Statistical methods are reviewed for large scale correlation studies, intermediate scale map smoothing exercises, and small scale clustering investigations, and the problems of interpretation are discussed. Problems of measuring environmental exposures at different scales are also reviewed. These issues are then related to current practice via a comprehensive set of case studies which include a large correlation study in China, clustering of asthma attacks, the Sellafield-leukaemia cluster, environmental clusters of mesothelioma in Turkey, the investigation of disease following the industrial accident at Seveso, and a multi-source study of cancer incidence around incinerators.
Review
well written and very readable. For a work with so many different contributors the continuity and uniformity of style is good. ... I regard this book as being of considerable use and interest to public health physicians ... For anyone considering carrying out an investigation of apparent disease clustering this book would be an invaluable source of help and information. (Mike Roworth, Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health)
This useful book ... summarizes important new developments in data availability, methodology and execution of small-area health studies. As the book is only 370 pages long, each chapter is relatively short and easily digestible; this makes the book useful for quick advice. (Peter Sainsbury, International Journal of Epidemiology, Vol. 22, No. 5, Oct '93)
This book is the first to summarize the new developments in data availability, methodology, and the execution of small-area health studies. (WHO Collaborating Centre for Air Quality Management and Air Pollution Control Newsletter, No. 12, November 1993)
this book contains relevant and timely material for its target audience of epidemiologists, statisticians and geographers, among others ... Many ... chapters include comprehensive references. It should serve as a good reference text on a topic that deserves greater attention and deeper understanding. (Lianne Sheppard, University of Washington, Statistics in Medicine 1994, Vol. 13, No. 8)
a useful collation of articles from the many disciplines that have an interest in these studies, and as such is recommended to those who have a specialist interest in this field (Ken Muir, University of Nottingham. Journal of Public Health Medicine, Vol. 15, No. 4, 1993)
There is a useful review of how one can estimate population or years when census counts are not available. The problems and methods of estimating and mapping environmental exposure are well and thoroughly reviewed, though relatively brief. This book can be confidently recommended for graduate students, career and research epidemiologists, and espesially those in public health. (Martin Hugh-Jones, Louisiana State University, Preventative Veterinary Medicine 24 (1995))
there is much that we can learn from it as many of the methodological problems are generic and catholic ... This book can be confidently recommended for graduate students, career and research epidemiologists, and especially those in public health. (Martin Hugh-Jones, Louisiana State University, Preventive Veterinary Medicine 24 (1995))
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