J Kishore. (Pp 625; $30.00). Century Publications, New Delhi, 2002. ISBN 81-88132-05-5

“This is a comprehensive collection, compilation, interpretation, and definition of public health vocabulary. It encompasses various disciplines and related fields including Epidemiology, Statistics, Social Sciences, Demography & Population Sciences, International Health, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Health Planning, Mental Health, Community Medicine, Preventive Medicine, etc”. This presentation of the book made by the author summarises perfectly the purpose and contents of the book.

The relevance of the book is possibly that it includes terms related to a great variety of subjects and disciplines in public health, usually only included in specific volumes.

The author, as it is recorded on the back of the book, “has been actively involved in social, mental and environmental health movement in India”. This professional career is in accordance with the important psychosocial approach that is kept through the book. He compiles with the same relevance traditional definitions like “intention to treat analysis?” or “global burden of disease”, with others more recently incorporated to public health, such as, “social capital”, “equity in health”, “medical negligence”, or “medicalisation” among many others. Definitions related to new health problems as “dioxin” or “Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease” coexist with old health problems such as “diphtheria” or “HIV/AIDS”.

Finally, this dictionary contains more than 1500 entries that include a considerable number of tables, graphics, figures, and formulas. In addition, more than one third of the definitions contained in this dictionary are supported by recently updated bibliographical references. This is another noteworthy aspect that makes this dictionary, easy to read and manage despite its length and large number of definitions.