PRINCIPLES OF EPIDEMIOLOGY HW

UNIT 3

DQ1

Differentiate between bias and confounding. Discuss the criteria necessary to establish a factor as a confounder and provide an example applying these criteria. What is one way to adjust for a confounding relationship in the study design or the analysis?

DQ2

Explain the two major types of bias. Identify a peer-reviewed epidemiology article that discusses potential issues with bias as a limitation and discuss what could have been done to minimize the bias (exclude articles that combine multiple studies such as meta-analysis and systemic review articles). What are the implications of making inferences based on data with bias? Include a link to the article in your reference.

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STUDY MATERIALS

Read Chapters 14 and 15 in Gordis Epidemiology.

Read “Association or Causation: Evaluating Links Between ‘Environment and Disease,'” by Lucas and McMichael (2005), located on the World Health Organization website. URL: https://www-ncbi-nlm-nih-gov.lopes.idm.oclc.org/pmc/articles/PMC2626424/pdf/16283057.pdf

Read “Weak Associations in Epidemiology: Importance, Detection, and Interpretation,” by Doll, from Journal of Epidemiology (1996). URL: https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jea1991/6/4sup/6_4sup_11/_pdf

Read “Causal Inference Based on Counterfactuals,” by Hofler (2005), located on the BioMed Central website. URL: https://bmcmedresmethodol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2288-5-28

Read “Multicausality: Confounding,” by Schoenbach (2004), located on the Epidemilog.net website. URL: http://www.epidemiolog.net/evolving/Multicausality-Confounding.pdf

View “Sensitivity and Specificity – Explained in 3 Minutes,” by Martin (2014), located on the YouTube website. URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnJ3L-63Cf8

View “The Relationship Between Incidence and Prevalence,” by Patwari (2013), located on the YouTube website. URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jzZe3ORdd8

Use the “Creating a 2×2 Contingency Table” resource to assist with the completion of the Measuring Morbidity: Prevalence and Incidence assignment, as needed.

UNIT 4

DQ1

Based on the “Multicausality: Confounding – Assignment,” by Schoenbach, discuss two significant insights you learned about confounding. Use specific examples from the assignment to support your answer.

DQ2

Describe the characteristics and design of a cohort study. Based on a disease or health condition identified from the “2020 LHI Topics” on the Healthy People 2020 website, or an article from the GCU library, discuss a real example of a cohort study (include the link to the article in your post to the forum). Include the participants, exposures or treatment groups, timeframe, and outcomes that were measured. Why is a cohort study described as an “observational” study rather than an “experimental” study design?

STUDY MATERIALS

Read Chapters 7-9 in Gordis Epidemiology.

View “Randomized Control Trials and Confounding,” by Martin (2013), located on the YouTube website. URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ybuE39BpQ8

Read “2020 LHI Topics,” located on the Healthy People 2020 website. URL: https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/leading-health-indicators/2020-LHI-Topics

Complete the “Multicausality: Confounding – Assignment,” by Schoenbach (2001), located on the Epidemilog.netwebsite. URL: http://www.epidemiolog.net/evolving/ConfoundingAssgt.pdf

Refer to the “Multicausality: Confounding – Assignment Solutions,” by Schoenbach (2001), located on the Epidemilog.netwebsite, to check your answers to the assignment. URL: http://www.epidemiolog.net/evolving/ConfoundingSolns.pdf

Read “Understanding Controlled Trials: Why Are Randomized Controlled Trials Important?” by Sibbald and Roland, from British Medical Journal (1998). URL:http://search.proquest.com.lopes.idm.oclc.org/docview/1777585669/fulltextPDF/2BDCED02960C4E6APQ/1?accountid=7374

UNIT 5

DQ1

Describe the common characteristics and design of a case-control study. Discuss the three important features when it comes to selecting cases and controls, and identify a situation when one of these might be violated. Discuss the limitations of using questionnaires for determining exposure status and provide examples of alternative strategies for collecting this information in a case-control study. PRINCIPLES OF EPIDEMIOLOGY HW

DQ2

Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of cross-sectional studies and examples of how they can be “descriptive” or “analytic” study designs. Discuss an example of a disease where survival could influence the association between a possible exposure and the disease when measured with a cross-sectional study. Do not discuss examples used in the textbook.

STUDY MATERIALS

Read Chapter 10 in Gordis Epidemiology.

View “Cohort and Case Control Studies,” by Martin (2013), located on the YouTube website. URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3GHTYa-gZg

Read “Introduction to Study Designs – Cross-Sectional Studies,” located on the Health Knowledge website. URL: https://www.healthknowledge.org.uk/e-learning/epidemiology/practitioners/introduction-study-design-css

Read “Cross-Sectional Studies,” from ERIC Notebook (2012), located on the Gillings School of Global Public Health -University of North Carolina website. URL: https://sph.unc.edu/files/2015/07/nciph_ERIC8.pdf

Read “Section 7: Analytic Epidemiology,” from Lesson 1 of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) self-study course, Principles of Epidemiology in Public Health Practice: An Introduction to Applied Epidemiology and Biostatistics (2012), located on the CDC website. URL: https://www.cdc.gov/csels/dsepd/ss1978/lesson1/section7.html

UNIT 6

DQ1

Differentiate between association and causation using the causal guidelines. Discuss which of the guidelines you think is the most difficult to establish. Discuss the four types of causal relationships and use an example not listed in the textbook to describe each relationship.

DQ2

Explain the difference between relative risk, attributable risk, and population attributable risk. Provide an example (not from the textbook) of how each type of risk is used in epidemiology. How would you propose using population attributable risk to advocate for a health policy or intervention relative to your health interest?

STUDY MATERIALS

Review Chapter 14, and read Chapters 11-13 in Gordis Epidemiology.

Read “Causation in Epidemiology: Association and Causation,” located on the Health Knowledge website. URL: https://www.healthknowledge.org.uk/e-learning/epidemiology/practitioners/causation-epidemiology-association-causation

Read “Section 5: Measures of Association,” from Lesson 3 of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) self-study course, Principles of Epidemiology in Public Health Practice: An Introduction to Applied Epidemiology and Biostatistics (2012), located on the CDC website. URL: https://www.cdc.gov/csels/dsepd/ss1978/lesson3/section5.html

Use the “BRFSS Web Enabled Analysis Tool,” located on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website, to complete the topic assignment. URL: https://nccd.cdc.gov/weat/#/

Review “Multicausality: Confounding,” by Schoenbach (2004), located on the Epidemilog.net website. URL: http://www.epidemiolog.net/evolving/Multicausality-Confounding.pdf

View “How to Calculate Relative Risk,” by Shaneyfelt (2012), located on the YouTube website. URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xk2uK14eHNs

View “How to Calculate an Odds Ratio,” by Shaneyfelt (2012), located on the YouTube website. URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITi0SxmQTO8

UNIT 7

DQ1

Epidemiological methods are used in a variety of public health areas (including infectious disease, chronic disease, and social health) and settings (including the community, schools, and the workplace). Epidemiological methods are used to assess, describe, analyze, and make comparisons of populations to inform evidence-based practices, policies, and interventions. Propose a study based on the methods you have learned thus far designed to investigate an association within one of the public health areas listed (infectious disease, chronic disease, or social health) and the methods you would apply. Discuss and define the risk factor or exposure that is being assessed, the method of comparison that is used, and the setting or situation (community, school, workplace, etc.) your study would look to address. Consider the concepts of causal inference, measures of association, and study design. PRINCIPLES OF EPIDEMIOLOGY HW

DQ2

Race is often used as a descriptor of disease burden and helps us to determine where health disparities exist in order to address them, which is important. It is helpful to differentiate between race as a descriptor and race as a risk factor. Think about institutional racism and its influence on health. Consider the factors related to race and ethnicity that might be influencing disease status more than the genetics of race when answering this discussion question.

Consider the following statement: “Race is not a risk factor and should not be used in public health data collection.” Discuss the ethical and public health implications of this statement. When might collecting data on race perpetuate institutional racism leading to health disparities and when is it necessary to improve public health? Provide support and examples for your answer. Consider ethical issues related to respect for persons, beneficence, and justice as described in “The Belmont Report.”

STUDY MATERIALS

Read Chapters 17, 19, and 20 in Gordis Epidemiology.

Read “Health Inequalities Among British Civil Servants: The Whitehall II Study,” by Marmot and Smith, from The Lancet (1991). URL:https://lopes.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hch&AN=9107080526&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Read “The Role of Epidemiology in Disaster Response Policy Development,” by Thorpe et al., from Science Direct (2015). URL:http://www.sciencedirect.com.lopes.idm.oclc.org/science/article/pii/S1047279714003184?_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_origin=gateway&_docanchor=&md5=b8429449ccfc9c30159a5f9aeaa92ffb

Read “Prescription Drug Abuse: From Epidemiology to Public Policy,” by McHugh, Nielsen, and Weiss, from Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment (2015). URL:http://www.sciencedirect.com.lopes.idm.oclc.org/science/article/pii/S0740547214001871?_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_origin=gateway&_docanchor=&md5=b8429449ccfc9c30159a5f9aeaa92ffb&ccp=y

Read “The Role Epidemiology in Evidence-Based Policy Making: A Case Study of Tobacco Use in Youth,” by Aldrich et al., from Annals of Epidemiology (2015).