Epidemiological Methods and Measurements Essay

Epidemiological Methods and Measurements Essay

Epidemiological Methods and Measurements Essay

A case-control study is an observational study primarily used to examine factors associated with diseases or outcomes. It begins with a group of cases, basically the participants who have the outcome of interest. Afterward, the researcher creates a second group of participants, referred to as the controls, similar to the case participants but do not have the outcome of interest (Tenny et al., 2021). On the other hand, a randomized controlled trial (RCT) is a prospective study that measures the effectiveness of a new intervention or treatment. RCTs provide a rigorous tool to assess the cause-effect relationships between an intervention and outcome. Randomization balances the characteristics of the participants between the groups allowing acknowledgment of any differences in the outcome of the study intervention (Hariton & Locascio, 2018). Case-control studies are observational and do not provide the same level of evidence as RCTs.

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One advantage of case-control studies is that their methods allow for studying rare conditions and assessing their associated historical factors. Besides, the design of case-control studies makes it possible to examine multiple risk factors at ago (Tenny et al., 2021). Case-control studies are also helpful during disease outbreaks as they are used in identifying potential links and exposures causing the outbreak. Nevertheless, they have shortcomings, like the potential for recall bias. Recall bias in case-control studies is the increased probability that participants with the outcome will remember and report exposures than individuals without the outcome (Tenny et al., 2021). This may result in a false conclusion that there are links between exposure and disease.

Correlational studies seek to identify differences in a population’s characteristics based on whether or not its participants have been naturally exposed to an event of interest. The researcher in correlational studies outlines a set of variables and examines hypothesized relations among the variables (Ranganathan & Aggarwal, 2018). The outcome is the dependent variable, while variables being examined for relations are the independent variables. Case-control studies fall at the base of the research pyramid. This means that they are less reliable than RCTs and cohort studies since demonstrating a statistical connection does not mean that one factor necessarily contributed to the other (Ranganathan & Aggarwal, 2018). 

References

Hariton, E., & Locascio, J. J. (2018). Randomised controlled trials – the gold standard for effectiveness research: Study design: randomised controlled trials. BJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology, 125(13), 1716. https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-0528.15199

Ranganathan, P., & Aggarwal, R. (2018). Study designs: Part 1 – An overview and classification. Perspectives in clinical research, 9(4), 184–186. https://doi.org/10.4103/picr.PICR_124_18

Tenny, S., Kerndt, C. C., & Hoffman, M. R. (2021). Case Control Studies. In StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing.

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This week we are comparing and contrasting epidemiological methods of research; case-control and cohort study methods. Select either the case-control or cohort study method and compare its features, the methodology, to a randomized controlled trial using the following questions. Please format, organize, your responses using each question below:

What is the fundamental difference between the method you have chosen (either the case-control or cohort method) and the randomized controlled trial?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of the study method you chose (case-control or cohort study)?
What are the characteristics of a correlational study?
Where does the method you chose (case-control or cohort study) fall on the research pyramid? What does where it is on the research pyramid mean?