HTHSCI 3C04 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Prospective Cohort Study, Resident Assistant, Randomized Controlled Trial
11 Apr 2018
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Unit 3: quantitative research designs, measurement and bias. A study design: refers to the way a study is organized/constructed & methods used. Quantitative study designs best for questions about: cause of a disease (etiology) prognosis diagnosis prevention treatment economics of a health problem. Qualitative study designs best for questions about the meaning or experience (e. g. , of illness) Hierarchy: rct is considered most rigorous (least biased) Experimental designs: randomized controlled trial (rct): prospective; best evidence for causation continuous outcome: ex. blood pressure, a1c levels discrete outcome: is the outcome there or not; measuring hospitalization (yes or no) Quasi-experimental designs: cohort analytic study: prospective continous outcome. Ethical issues: is it fair to deny the intervention to the control group? (ex. denying any cancer patient access to a drug that offers hope with no known risks (or minor risks relative to prognosis without the drug) Rcts are the most rigorous (strongest) design.
