Epidemiologic Study Designs
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Epidemiologic Study Designs
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Conceptual Foundations of Epidemiological Research and Study Design Application
Epidemiological study designs refer to evidence-based research approaches employed to examine public health problems and the effects of healthcare treatments. The investigation of the connection between smoking and lung cancer used an observational analytical study methodology described in the discussion. The ethical implications of the study design are already described, and its implications for practice are also explained in the discussion. Smoking is possibly the leading cause of lung cancer in both men and women.
Identification and Justification of the Selected Population Health Issue
The population health topic chosen for discussion in this assignment is the association between smoking and lung cancer. Smoking cigarettes primarily causes lung cancer. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that tobacco use accounts for 80% to 90% of occurrences of lung cancer deaths (CDC, 2022). Smoking is notorious for increasing infection and mortality rates of lung cancer by 15 to 30 times. Although this conclusion is supported by research, other possible causes for lung cancer need to be considered, including age, gender, and occupation, the latter of which is the most significant confounder. The simple research question for this health problem will be: How can observational analytical study design support the assertion that smoking significantly contributes to lung cancer risk?
Selection and Rationale for Observational Analytical Study Design in Epidemiology
The epidemiologic study design that would be most appropriate to assess and address the selected population's health problem would be an observational study design. An observational analytical study design used in epidemiological research examines the association between two variables, in this context, exposure and a result (Curley, 2020). The study aims to establish a connection between lung cancer and smoking. The observational analytical study design is advantageous for the population health issue that this research tackles because it not only offers a framework to test hypotheses highlighted by the causal risk factors of smoking and the outcome of the health issue, but also assesses the effectiveness and safety of the health initiatives used via different methods, including cross-sectional, cohort, and case-control studies. Contrary to descriptive design, which concentrates on a linear progression of disease prevalence, an observational analytical study must be employed since lung cancer can be triggered by various risk variables, defined as confounders (Ranganathan & Aggarwal, 2019). A multidimensional framework is necessary to reach debatable conclusions on the public health issue in this study. In this regard, it is inherently advised for the success of this research to use the epidemiological design proposed in this study, employing a case-control study as the initial statistical analysis approach. Notably, lung cancer and smoking reflect the exposure and risk factors determined by the study methodology.
Data Collection Techniques and Integration of Qualitative and Quantitative Methods
The proposed methods for collecting data for this study include questionnaires, interviews, assessments, and literature reviews. According to Rasmussen & Goodman (2019), combining qualitative and quantitative data-gathering methods is critical for observational analytical design. Online and ethnographic surveys can be carried out to collect accurate and streamlined data. Similarly, interviews may be either open-ended or closed based on the intended goal. One parameter can denote current smokers, and the other can denote non-smokers. For qualitative data on smoking prevalence in the respondents' households, open-ended questions are necessary; however, statistical analysis may also use closed yes or no queries (Rasmussen & Goodman, 2019). Survey questions and questionnaires also follow the same rules. While organic data collection from the field might be time-consuming and costly, data collection from printed literature is crucial. Patient records from the past can be used for a history of lung cancer triggers.
Implementation of Case-Control Methodology in Epidemiological Investigation
The specific methodology strategy used in this study is the case-control methodology. Cases, respondents with lung cancer, and control subjects, respondents without lung cancer, are obtained as essential parts of the case-control methodology. The researcher can then integrate the risk factor within every group after allocating these variables, smoking. The case selection strategy to be used in this research is incidence selection. Individuals who have just received a lung cancer diagnosis are included without authenticating the diagnostic-specific cause. That is also important to lessen premorbid exposure to causal factors. The study specifies that a case group is chosen from hospital data. Conversely, the control group is defined by their exposure to smoking as a potential cause and by the potential confounders or occupation (Curley, 2020). While achieving demonstrable accuracy and a well-informed result, the participant's likelihood of being assigned to the cases group if they get lung cancer influences the choice of the control group. In light of this, inpatient population control is advocated in this study.
Evaluation of Strengths and Limitations of the Case-Control Study Approach
Compared to alternative approaches, including cohorts, the case-control approach is cost-effective and time-effective (Ranganathan & Aggarwal, 2019). It is considerably more practical to analyze the risk of exposure levels and the result with multiple variables using the case-control methodology. Only when cases and controls are verified does this happen. Despite the methodology's advantages, it is difficult to pinpoint the exact cause of lung cancer because of confounding variables like age and work. In case-control designs, it is additionally challenging to tell whether the result or the risk factor emerged first (Ranganatha & Aggarwal, 2019). It can result in statistical inaccuracies, endangering the validity of the study.
Ethical Principles Guiding Epidemiological Research and Participant Protection
Medical professionals engaged in epidemiological research must exercise exact precision in the collection and use of scientific understanding to safeguard public health security while ensuring respondents' rights and respecting their ideas and decisions (Goldstein et al., 2018).
Integrated Synthesis of Epidemiological Study Design Application in Public Health Research
In conclusion, following the completion of an evidence-based investigation of the contributing factors to public health issues, epidemiological study designs assist in planning and executing health interventions. The observational analytical study approach offers a conceptual basis through case-control studies for examining the link between risk variables and exposure from a broader perspective. The study discusses whether analytical research design is the best technique to support the claim that smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer and provides precise definitions of the data supporting this assertion. Future studies should investigate the implications of an observational analytical study design because analytical study design is a broad issue with many aspects that still need to be fully covered in this discussion.
Reference List
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), (2022). Lung cancer: what are the risk factors. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/lung/basic_info/risk_factors.htm
Curley, A. L. C. (Ed.). (2020). Population-based nursing: Concepts and competencies for Curley advanced practice (3rd ed.). Springer.
Goldstein, C. E., Weijer, C., Brehaut, J. C., Fergusson, D. A., Grimshaw, J. M., Horn, A. R., & Taljaard, M. (2018). Ethical issues in pragmatic randomized controlled trials: a review of the recent literature identifies gaps in ethical argumentation. BMC medical ethics, 19(1), 1-10.
Ranganathan, P., & Aggarwal, R. (2019). Study designs: Part 3-Analytical observational studies. Perspectives in clinical research, 10(2), 91.
Rasmussen, S. A., & Goodman, R. A. (Eds.). (2019). The CDC field epidemiology manual. Oxford University Press.