Epidemiology for Public Health Practice, Essay Example

From an epidemiological perspective risk factors are features of an illness, disease, or situation that would render individuals or populations vulnerable. They could be internal or external, environmental or genetic (Friis & Sellers, 2014). For example, in this case it is a situation of catheter associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIS). When defining health outcome in relation to CAUTIS  urinary tract infection could be the health outcome and catheter insertion risk factor. However, contemporary evidence-based practices express health outcomes in forms of specific measurements regarding changes in a person’s health (Friis & Sellers, 2014).

In my opinion a cross-sectional design would be most appropriate for conducting an observational study regarding CAUTIS. The greatest strength of a cross-sectional design when evaluating  catheter insertion and infection, is the researcher’s  opportunity to retrieve data on the issue at a particular point in time. Besides, it is very cost effective and far less time consuming than other designs. A major weakness lies in the specificity of timing when data is collected. There is no scope for applying the data retrieved to alternative populations or other periods of time (Friis & Sellers, 2014).

If the current period is selected to conduct this observation study applying the cross- sectional approach, learning valuable and immense. Cross-sectional data retrieved from patients who were catheterized and became infected has the potential of discovering current trends in the development of catheter inducted urinary tract infection. The human body is dynamic and variables, which might have been dominant causes for CAUTIS twenty years ago, could change. Data  retrieved using  this design would identify changes and allow scientists to either modify treatment or discard assumptions formerly used to  classify evidence of CAUTIS (Nicolle, 2008).

References

Friis, R. H., & Sellers, T. A. (2014). Epidemiology for public health practice (5th ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett.

Nicolle, L. (2008). The Prevention of Hospital-Acquired Urinary Tract Infection. Clinical Infectious Diseases. 2008;46-251-3