Project: Epidemiological Research Study Report

Post ID: 3348396

Overview

Epidemiology is the science public health practitioners use to study the patterns, causes, and effects of health conditions in defined populations. Public health practitioners rely on epidemiology to understand the risks and protective factors associated with health conditions. They also rely on epidemiology to identify health disparities and specific populations at risk for disease. Studies in epidemiology inform the development of public health policy. These studies also support the development of targeted interventions to prevent disease and reduce health disparities.

For your final project, you will complete an epidemiological research study report based on a research study on a coronavirus outbreak. Epidemiologists in the field often must develop recommendations to address specific health issues. Part of the process for developing recommendations is to analyze what other communities and epidemiologists have already done to address the issues. In your report, you will analyze a health issue, the population impacted, and the prevention strategies used. You will then develop a research question and determine an appropriate research design to further investigate the issue.

In this assignment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course outcomes:

Draw connections between health disparities within specific populations and social and behavioral determinants
Determine key epidemiological principles of disease by analyzing health research studies
Determine patterns and trends of disease causation in specific populations by analyzing health data
Differentiate between primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention strategies for how they address key factors impacting health issues of specific populations
Select epidemiological research designs to investigate disease and improve the quality of health for specific populations

Prompt

For your final project, you will develop an epidemiological research study report based on the “A Novel Coronavirus Outbreak: A Teaching Case-Study” research study and the Coronavirus Case Study Data Tables resource provided in the module Resources page. This research study investigates a public health issue impacting specific populations worldwide. In your project, you will analyze the population impacted by the public health issue to accomplish the following items:

Make connections between social and behavioral determinants and disparities.
Analyze the health issue to determine key epidemiologic principles and identify patterns and trends.
Examine the levels of prevention used to address the health issue.

For the conclusion of your research study report, you will develop a research question to further investigate the public health issue and population. You will also determine an appropriate research design for investigating the research question.

Specifically, you must address the critical elements listed below. Most of the critical elements align with a particular course outcome.

Population: In this report section, you will summarize key elements of the population in the research study and analyze the population impacted by the health issue.
1. Summarize the people, places, and times represented in the research study to provide context for your report.
2. Describe three social and behavioral determinants strongly associated with the public health issue in the research study.
  1. Cite specific examples from the research study to support your description.
3. Describe three known disparities associated with the health of the specific population.
  1. Cite specific examples from the research study to support your description.
4. Explain how the identified social and behavioral determinants relate to the disparities you identified and explain your reasoning.
Health Issue: In this section of your final project, you will analyze the health issue that is the focus of the research study. You will draw conclusions about the health issue by reviewing the research study, the coronavirus case study data tables, and your own research on the topic.
1. Describe the risk factors associated with the public health issue. Support your description with evidence from the research study and your independent research.
2. Describe the mode of transmission of the public health issue. Support your description with evidence from the research study and your independent research.
3. Determine the incidence and prevalence of the health issue. Use the data from the Coronavirus Case Study Data Tables resource to perform the appropriate calculations. Table 1 displays the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases by country that were reported daily between January 21, 2020, and February 1, 2020.
  1. Calculate the incidence of COVID-19 in China on January 21, 2020. Assume the population of China at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic was 1.4 billion, or 1,400,000,000.
  2. Calculate the prevalence of COVID-19 worldwide during the entire period from January 21, 2020, to February 1, 2020. Assume that the global population of China at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic was 7.821 billion or 7,821,000,000.
4. Determine the mortality rate of the health issue. Use the data from the Coronavirus Case Study Data Tables resource to perform the appropriate calculations. Table 2 displays the total number of deaths from COVID-19 in all countries each day between January 21, 2020, and January 31, 2020.
  1. To calculate mortality, use the total number of deaths from Table 2 and the total number of confirmed cases from Table 1.
5. Interpret the odds ratios in the Coronavirus Case Study Data Tables resource to determine the strength of association between baseline characteristics and the disease mortality. Use the odds ratios in Table 3 for your interpretation.
6. Draw connections between the population and public health issue using your research and analysis.
  1. Consider where you identified common elements, what you learned about the public health issue by studying the population, and what you learned about the population by studying the public health issue.
  2. Consider the study’s suggestion of the most likely primary source of the outbreak.
Levels of Prevention: In this section, you will describe the prevention strategies epidemiologists use to address the health issue. You will identify a strategy for each level of prevention and then differentiate between the strategies. Review the Module Four overview and resources for a refresher on levels of prevention.
1. Describe a primary prevention strategy. Explain how the strategy addresses key factors impacting the health issue of the specific population.
  1. Provide one example of a primary prevention strategy from the case study or your independent research.
2. Describe a secondary prevention strategy. Explain how the strategy addresses key factors impacting the health issue of the specific population.
  1. Provide one example of a secondary prevention strategy from the case study or your independent research.
3. Describe a tertiary prevention strategy. Explain how the strategy addresses key factors impacting the health issue of the specific population.
  1. Provide one example of a tertiary prevention strategy from the case study or your independent research.
4. Explain how the primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention strategies differ in how they address the key factors impacting the health issue in the research study.
Conclusion: Now that you have analyzed the research study, you will develop a research question to further investigate the specific health issue and population. You will also select an appropriate research design and explain why the research is important to the field of public health. Review the Module Five overview and resources for a refresher on key points of developing a research question.
1. Develop a research question to further investigate the specific public health issue and impacted population based on your analysis of the research study.
2. Determine whether an observational or experimental research design would be more appropriate to investigate your research question. Justify your determination.
3. Explain the importance of further research for improving the quality of health from a global perspective. What is the potential benefit?
Required Resource:

Reading: A Novel Coronavirus Outbreak: A Teaching Case-Study

opens in new windowThis resource discusses the coronavirus outbreak. This case study will be used to complete the final project in this course.

Reading: Coronavirus Case Study Data Tables opens in new window This resource is a supplement to the case study. You will use this resource to complete the project. The reading contains tables that display numbers of reported COVID-19 cases by country and reported deaths. The reading also includes odds ratios for factors related to mortality from COVID-19.

Other Resources:

Reading: Levels of Prevention: Primary, Secondary and Tertiary opens in new window This article briefly reviews the three levels of prevention and provides a visual to help you remember them.

What to Submit

Your final project should be 8–10 pages with double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, and one-inch margins. Sources should be cited according to APA style.