ANTC67H3 Chapter 3: Chapter 3 Notes
Document Summary
Epidemiological studies can be classified as either observational or experimental. Observational studies all nature to take its course: the investigator measures but does not intervene. Apart from the simplest descriptive studies, almost all epidemiological studies are analytical in character. Pure descriptive studies are rare, but descriptive data in reports of health statistics are a useful source of ideas for epidemiological studies. Major experimental study designs include the following: Randomized controlled trials using patients as subjects (clinical trials) Field trials in which the participants are healthy people, and. Community trials in which the participants are the communities themselves. In all epidemiological studies it is essential to have a clear definition of a case of the disease being investigated by delineating the symptoms, signs or other characteristics indicating that a person has the disease. In the absence of clear definitions of disease and exposures, it is very difficult to interpret the data from an epidemiological study.
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