Modelling in Public Health Research ― How Mathematical Techniques Keep Us Healthy

The increasing use of mathematical models and computational techniques urges us to analyse how these methods have developed within public health research and policy. This book introduces a life cycle metaphor that integrates different developmental stages of modelling, providing a broader understanding of the use of mathematical models. By exploring how our lives are affected by the risk of infections and what we can do to control them, the author shows how modelling techniques can prevent, predict and help study infectious outbreaks. The life cycle metaphor is complemented by evidence from several case studies of infectious disease modelling (MMR diseases, pandemic outbreak, animal health). This book offers new insights on modelling techniques used for infectious diseases, inviting the reader to reflect on how strongly we rely on models and how these could be used more wisely.

Erika Mansnerus is Research Fellow at the London School of Economics and Political Science, UK, where she teaches sociology and social policy. Her work has been funded by the British Academy, the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs, UK. She was awarded her PhD at the University of Helsinki in 2007.