The Analysis of Count Data: Poisson Model

Abstract Data consisting of counts are fundamental to the analysis of epidemiologic data. Counts come in various forms, such as numerators of rates, numerators of proportions, and values directly entered into tables. Regression allows the analysis of counts when they are known or assumed to be sampled from Poisson probability distributions. This chapter discusses the Poisson model, Poisson model adjusted rate, Poisson regression, and application of the Poisson model.