Epidemiologic study designs and methods » Full Grade

Assignment ID: FG133083407

Part. A – How are Epidemiologic Study Designs and Methods Applied to Public Health Practice:

1. What is the title of the manuscript you have been assigned? Who is the primary author of the article (i.e. the first author listed)?

2. What is the study design in the manuscript assigned to you and what are the primary characteristics of this particular study design?

3. Depending on the design of your assigned study how does this study design differ from the following designs: ecological, case-control, prospective cohort, retrospective cohort, cross-sectional?

4. What was the primary study research question? This is usually noted within the introductory section of a manuscript.

5. What appears to be the primary outcome that was investigated and analyzed? Were there additional outcomes that were examined? This might be mortality related to a specific disease, or the prevalence of a specific disease or health condition. Note whether there was only one outcome that was evaluated.

6. What appears to have been the study hypothesis in this study? Sometimes the research study question is a generalized statement but it is related to a background study hypothesis even if the hypothesis is not explicitly stated. Try to infer what the study authors hypothesized and note this in relation to the study question. (The hypothesis is considered to be a statement about the association between an exposure and an outcome (disease or illness) that is statistically testable. For example, in a study of alcohol consumption and breast cancer the investigators may have hypothesized that either alcohol consumption in general or high levels of alcohol may increase the risk of breast cancer. Although this is often in the Introduction, it may be explicitly stated in the Results or Discussion section.

7. How were study subjects (participants) recruited and how many subjects were enrolled in the study compared to how many actually participated in the study?

8. How were data collected for the study?

9. What was the main agent, exposure, or risk factor being investigated in relation to the outcome?

10. What types of covariates and confounders were evaluated? These are not the same as what is often referred to as the primary outcome or main effect. Remember a covariate or confounder is a variable that is thought to be relevant and important when evaluating the association of interest between a primary exposure or risk factor and the outcome. For example, alcohol consumption and the risk of breast cancer may be the primary association of interest for a study research question, but it will also be important to consider other influential factors such as cigarette smoking, obesity, reproductive history, family history of breast cancer, etc. when evaluating this association.

Part B – How are Quantitative and Qualitative Methods Applied to Public Health Problems:

1. What quantitative and qualitative data collection methods were selected in this study? If qualitative methods were not used, please provide a brief narrative on what types of qualitative methods could have been selected for such a study.

a. “Revisiting the Quantitative-Qualitative Debate: Implications for Mixed-Methods Research” by Joanna E. M. Sale (2002)

b. “Qualitative Research in Epidemiology”, by Susana Silva and Sílvia Fraga (2012).

Part C – What Factors Affect a Population’s Health:

1. What, if any, environmental risk factors were examined in the assigned manuscript?

a. Explain their relevance in relation to the study outcome, if examined.

b. Regardless of whether these factors were considered, find a publication (using PUBMED) that addresses the environmental factors associated with either the primary outcome in the assigned manuscript or an outcome of your choice.

c. Explain how environmental factors may affect a population’s health.

2. What, if any, biological and genetic risk factors were examined in the assigned manuscript?

a. Explain their relevance in relation to the study outcome, if examined.

b. Regardless of whether these factors were considered, find a publication (using PUBMED) that addresses the biological and genetic factors associated with either the primary outcome in the assigned manuscript or an outcome of your choice.

c. Explain how biological and genetic factors may affect a population’s health.

3. What if any behavioral and psychological risk factors were examined in the assigned manuscript?

a. Explain their relevance in relation to the study outcome, if examined.

b. Regardless of whether these factors were considered, find a publication (using PUBMED) that addresses the behavioral and psychological factors associated with either the primary outcome in the assigned manuscript or an outcome of your choice.

c. Explain how behavioral and psychological factors may affect a population’s health.

4. What, if any, social, political, and economic risk factors were examined?

a. Explain their relevance in relation to the study outcome, if examined.

b. Regardless of whether these factors were considered, find a publication (using PUBMED) that addresses the social, political, and economic factors associated with either the primary outcome in the assigned manuscript or an outcome of your choice.

c. Explain how social, political, and economic factors may affect a population’s health.

Part D – How Are Results Used to Advance Public Health Knowledge:

1. How did the authors of your assigned manuscript use statistics to describe and assess the specific populations being studied and to test their hypothesis?

2. With respect to the single most important finding in the study, what measure of association was calculated? (Relative Risk, Odds Ratio, Hazard Ratio, Correlation Coefficient, Regression Coefficient, Standardized Incidence Ratio).

3. What was the primary finding reported by the study authors and was it in keeping with what they anticipated? (i.e. Was their hypothesis supported by the results?).

4. What are the strengths and limitations identified by the authors of the study? This might range from strengths that are noted such as large study sample to limitations such as the possibility of particular forms of bias or small study sample size. The discussion of study strengths and limitations is usually toward the end of the manuscript in the ‘Discussion’ section.

5. How might the limitations impact the validity of the study and interpretation of the findings with respect to public health?

6. How well did the authors discuss whether this study would further advance understanding of the specific health condition and address gaps in knowledge and research?

7. What might be a future next step to take after conducting this study?

8. Overall, how would you interpret the results of their data analysis for impact on public health research?

9. How do you think the results of this study could be translated to public health policy and prevention of this disease or health problem?