University:
American Baptist College
Course:
IKM 20632 | Basic Epidemiology
Academic year:

2023
Views:

107

Pages:

3
Author:

Muthia M

Descriptive Epidemiologic Research and Experimental Research A. Descriptive Epidemiologic Research 1. Basic Design of Epidemiologic Studies Epidemiology is the study of: 1) Distribution 2) Frequency of a disease/health problem in the population 3) Determinants 2. Epidemiologic research designs can be broadly divided into 1) Descriptive epidemiologic study research Including descriptive epidemiological study designs are: a. Case-report study design b. Case-series study design c. Correlation study design d. Cross-sectional study design 2) Analytic epidemiologic research or study Including analytical epidemiological study designs are a. Cohort study design b. Case-control study design c. Intervention study design B. Epidemiologic Research Design 1. Descriptive Epidemiology Descriptive epidemiology explains the distribution of health problems mainly based on the factors of person, place and time. 2. Analytic Epidemiology Analytic epidemiology is the study of the determinants of health problems. C. Basis of Epidemiologic Studies Epidemiological research is based on (two) assumptions, namely: 1. The incidence of illness does not occur randomly 2. Systematic and careful tracking of different population groups can recognize the factors that cause and prevent disease. To further understand the type of epidemiological study, we should first establish the definition of epidemiology as a basis for thinking. D. Descriptive Study Descriptive studies are studies that describe the general character of the distribution of a disease, for example in relation to: 1. People (who) 2. Place (where) 3. Time (when) Descriptive studies provide evidence to develop hypotheses. Descriptive studies provide information for health services and administrators for allocating resources and planning prevention and education programs. Descriptive studies are relatively cheap and quick compared to analytic studies Descriptive studies explain: 1. Who gets sick and who does not 2. Where the problem (rate) of disease is high 3. Whether there is a temporal pattern E. Objectives of Descriptive Study 1. To be able to describe disease distribution based on population characteristics 2. To evaluate trends in health problems and compare between regions 3. To be able to calculate the magnitude of health problems as a basis for program planning and evaluation 4. To identify health problems that will be followed by analytical research for hypothesis testing. F. Experiment Design An experiment is a research design in which researchers manipulate one or more factors (variables) and test them under controlled conditions, to determine the effect of the manipulated factor on a dependent variable. With experimental research, researchers deliberately change one or more factors in a controlled situation with the aim of studying the effect of changes in these factors on the dependent variable. Experimental studies measure the effect of a treatment (intervention) on a population by comparing treatment outcomes in treatment and control groups. Experimental studies are also called intervention studies. To avoid bias, members of the control group should be comparable except for the treatment. The allocation of individuals into treatment or control groups is ideally done by randomization.