Epidemiological Designs, Research Paper Example

A population health problem that is of interest to me is asthma in the pediatric population. In large cities, there is a higher incidence of asthma among young children compared to those living in rural areas (Boulet, 2013). As a consequence, it is important to understand which populations are at greater risk for developing this disease and to determine whether disease prevention is possible. Although asthma develops primarily due to environmental factors among urban populations, there is likely a relationship with genetics, health status, and demographics (Alves et al, 2014). Specifically, this study will focus on the relationship between development of asthma in urban populations and obesity.

To address this health problem, it would be beneficial to conduct a cross-sectional study. In this manner, the prevalence of asthma among individuals with and without obesity can be determined (Green et al., 2014). Statistical analysis could then be conducted to determine whether disease status varies in these populations. This is an advantageous study method because it can be conducted quickly compared to other experimental designs, such as the cohort study (Pleasants et al., 2014). Under the cross-sectional model, researchers do not have to wait for patients to develop asthma. Rather, they can use an understanding of the disease status to determine the weight of the participants. Furthermore, this sample should be reflective of this trend during other time periods. While it will not be possible to understand the direction of the relationship using the study, i.e. whether asthma causes obesity or if obesity causes asthma, there is much knowledge in the literature that indicates that it is the obesity that causes asthma. Following this assumption, the cross-sectional study design can be used to gain a greater extent of knowledge regarding the relationship between asthma and obesity.

It would be challenging to conduct case-control and cohort studies due to the relationship being examined. Both of these studies would require a lot of time recruiting and following patients. However, under the cross-sectional model, a piece of data is taken from a single moment in time. In this particular study, the researcher will not have to directly interact with participants, unless there is a need to determine obesity and asthma status using methods unique to the study. It would be possible for the researcher to partner with doctors and hospitals to determine how many people have asthma in their health care institution within a given time frame. The same information could be used to determine their obesity status. Therefore, conducting a cross-sectional study will provide more information more quickly.

It would be reasonable for a retrospective design to be used for this study as well. While the main interest is the current prevalence of asthma, many health care databases contain information regarding this trend. Therefore, databases could serve as a valuable tool for research to examine this relationship. If not enough current information is available in these systems, data could reasonably be obtained directly from doctors or health care institutions, provided that personal patient information remains protected. Last, to gain an understanding of this relationship a literature review will be necessary. This literature review will focus on resourced obtained from large databases like PubMed, although Google Scholar will be used to locate sources as well. Journals related to asthma and obesity will be searched for additional information to support an understanding of the direction of this relationship.

References

Alves A, Jarvelin M, Walley A. (2014). Late-breaking abstract: Gene environment interaction   analysis of obesity and asthma. European Respiratory Journal, 44: Suppl 58 P4774.

Boutlet LP. (2013). Asthma and obesity. Clinical & Experimental Allergy, 43(1): 8-21.

Green TL. (2014). Examining the temporal relationships between childhood obesity and asthma. Economics & Human Biology, 14: 92-102.

Pleasants RA, Ohar JA, Croft JB, Liu C, Mannino DM, Donohue JF, Herrick HL. (2014). Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Asthma–Patient Characteristics and Health Impairment. COPD: Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, 11(3): 256-266.