Third Edition of Healthcare Epidemiology Text is Released

A review in JAMA of the new third edition of Practical Healthcare Epidemiology, edited by Ebbing Lautenbach, Keith F. Woeltje, and Preeti N. Malani (University of Chicago Press, 2010) notes that the field of healthcare epidemiology is undergoing a rapid evolution.

 

JAMA reviewer Daniel J. Diekema, MD, of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, adds that new technologies for surveillance and prevention, increased public accountability, and the drive to achieve healthcare-acquired infection rates that approach zero represent new challenges to those on the front lines of patient safety. According to Diekema, "Such rapid change also risks making any healt care epidemiology textbook seem out of date as soon as it is published. Fortunately, the editors and authors of the new third edition of Practical Healthcare Epidemiology have produced a text that covers both the basics of infection prevention and the most important recent developments."

The 400-plus page text has 34 chapters divided into five sections, beginning with "Getting Started" (covering basic foundational issues such as epidemiologic methods), followed by "Surveillance and Prevention," "Antimicrobial-Resistant Organisms," "Special Topics" (including biological disaster preparedness, occupational health, and infection prevention in non-acute care settings), and "Administrative Issues."

Reference: JAMA. 2010;304(3):354. doi:10.1001/jama.2010.999