Healthcare Research: Study Design Assignment and Analysis

This document provides a detailed analysis of various study designs, exploring their applications in healthcare and research. It examines five different research scenarios, including the causal relationship between lung cancer and smoking, the association between depression and binge eating, the long-term effects of detention on asylum seekers, the relationship between folate supplementation and autism, and the testing of a drug for Alzheimer's disease. Each scenario is analyzed using a specific study design, such as cross-sectional surveys, longitudinal studies, meta-analysis, case-control cohort studies, and randomized control trials. The document highlights the advantages and disadvantages of each method, providing examples and references to support the analysis. The assignment emphasizes the importance of ethical considerations and statistical analysis in research, offering a comprehensive overview of study design principles and their practical applications in healthcare research.

Running head: STUDY DESIGN
STUDY DESIGN
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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STUDY DESIGN
CAUSAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LUNG CANCER AND
SMOKING
This can be also studied by cross-sectional survey method to find the relation between
lung cancer and smoking. The reason for using this cross-sectional analysis is that this type
of observational analysis results in higher accuracy of finding the epidemiological results. For
example, a study was conducted by collecting data and analysing these data by logistic
regression to evaluate the risk perception of cancer and smoking in 1,680 people. The
research resulted in the finding that smoking and lung cancer were related as the ones who
have had smoke more than 100 cigarettes were at higher risk of contracting lung cancer,
which is also an advantage of this design that the statistical analysis regarding epidemiology
can be conducted. Ethics was also maintained throughout the research, including taking
permissions and maintain privacy of the participants (Chen et al., 2016).
ASSOCIATION BETWEEN DEPRESSION AND BINGE EATING IN A
POPULATION OF OBESE ADOLESCENTS AND ADULTS
This can be studied by using longitudinal study technique. This is because
longitudinal study is a process in which repeated observation of a group of individual is
conducted to find out the appropriate results without any fabrication. For example, a study
was conducted to find out the association between depression and binge eating in adolescents
and adults by using longitudinal design in which the researchers picked up 13 studies from
database and evaluated it. The results they derived to concluded that depression had a
positive association with people who often practised binge eating and were obese. The
advantage of this study is the longer time-frame that is available to the researcher for
conducting proper observation on the selected variables and the disadvantage is it requires a
longer time period for conducting the research (Mannan et al., 2016).

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STUDY DESIGN
LONG TERM EFFECTS OF DETENTION ON THE MENTAL AND
PHYSICAL HEALTH OF ASYLUM SEEKERS
This can be studied by using the meta-analysis method of study. This is one of the
most suitable study techniques that can be used for finding out the effects of detention on the
mental and physical health of asylum seekers. For example, a study was conducted using the
meta-analysis technique followed by Campbell Collaboration guidelines to find out the long
term effects of detention. It was found that most of the papers discussed that the effects of
detention on asylum seekers are severe and included conditions like post-traumatic stress
disorder, anxiety and depression as well as other physical conditions. The advantage of this
technique, include aggregation of huge data and its analysis (Filges, Montgomery & Kastrup,
2018).
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FOLATE SUPPLEMENTATION DURING
PREGNANCY AND DEVELOPMENT OF AUTISM IN OFFSPRING
This study can be conducted using case control cohort study technique. This is
because two groups can be identified and compared on the basis of pregnant women on folate
supplementation and their offspring being autistic and the other group where pregnant women
did not consume folate supplement and gave birth to normal offspring. For example, a study
was conducted in Israel following this technique. The result showed that the group of
pregnant women who consumed folate supplement were at a greater risk of having offspring
with autism. The study was done considering the ethics. Permission were taken from
everyone and privacy was maintained. The advantage of this study is that the statistical
values can be deduced. The disadvantage is it requires a very long time (Levine et al., 2018).

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STUDY DESIGN
TESTING OF A DRUG FOR USE IN ELDERLY PEOPLE DIAGNOSED
WITH ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE
This study can be conducted by using Randomized control trial technique. This is
because it is the most suitable technique in giving trials for newly developed drugs.
Participants are randomly chosen and divided into control group and experimental group. The
control group is not provided any drugs and the experimental group is provided with the new
drug. Then the efficacy of the drug is observed. For example, a study was conducted, in
which literature papers were discussed about the drug testing in elderly people and found out
that all the studies used randomized control trial as the techniques of drug testing. Permission
should be taken and safety should be ensured while testing the drugs (Banzi et al., 2016).

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STUDY DESIGN
REFRENCES
Banzi, R., Camaioni, P., Tettamanti, M., & Lucca, U. (2016). Older patients are still under-
represented in clinical trials of Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer's research &
therapy, 8(1), 32.
Chen, L. S., Kaphingst, K. A., Tseng, T. S., & Zhao, S. (2016). How are lung cancer risk
perceptions and cigarette smoking related?—testing an accuracy
hypothesis. Translational cancer research, 5(Suppl 5), S964.
Filges, T., Montgomery, E., & Kastrup, M. (2018). The impact of detention on the health of
asylum seekers: a systematic review. Research on Social Work Practice, 28(4), 399-
414.
Levine, S. Z., Kodesh, A., Viktorin, A., Smith, L., Uher, R., Reichenberg, A., & Sandin, S.
(2018). Association of maternal use of folic acid and multivitamin supplements in the
periods before and during pregnancy with the risk of autism spectrum disorder in
offspring. JAMA psychiatry, 75(2), 176-184.
Mannan, M., Mamun, A., Doi, S., & Clavarino, A. (2016). Prospective associations between
depression and obesity for adolescent males and females-a systematic review and
meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. PloS one, 11(6).