Reference no: EM133677961
Assignment:
Activity - Analytic Study Designs
Suppose that you are part of a team of epidemiologists that is hired by various agencies to design and conduct analytic studies. Your team is currently working to design a case-control study with the following framework: The Ohio Department of Health (ODH) has hired your team to conduct a case-control study among men residing in the state of Ohio. The agency is interested in determining whether a mother's use of hormones during pregnancy has unknowingly influenced her son's risk of developing testicular cancer later in life.
Study Design
Answer the following questions to decide how the study will be designed:
1) How will you define and measure the exposure and the disease?
2) How will you define your participant selection/exclusion criteria?
3) Where, when, and how will you select/recruit/enroll participants?
4) How will you separate participants into the two study groups?
5) What data will you collect and how/when will you collect it?
6) Will you use any study design options and if so, how will you implement those design options?
7) Does your study design lend itself to any major sources of bias and if so, are there ways that you will avoid or control for those biases?
8) Are there any ethical considerations due to the nature/design of your study and if so, what methods will you employ to address those situations?
Analyze and Interpret Results
Now, the study has been designed and conducted. You have gotten these results:
You selected and enrolled 500 cases of testicular cancer from among records reported to Ohio's cancer registry. You selected and enrolled 1,000 controls. The mothers of 90 cases and 50 controls had used specified types of hormones during their pregnancy. Analyze and interpret the data that was collected by working through the 6 Step Process outlined in the lecture. After going through the 6 Steps, answer the following questions:
1. What do the resulting measures say about the potential association between the proposed exposure and disease?
2. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the study design and how will those attributes affect the way that you interpret and use the results?
3. Will you make any public health recommendations based on the study results?