Deck 6: Descriptive Studies in Epidemiology

Question 1

Discuss how the Tuskegee Syphilis study changed research practices.

Answer 1

After the impact of the Tuskegee Syphilis study was discovered, the National Research Act was signed into law. This created the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research. This group developed principles of research conduct and suggested ways to enforce the principles. The panel required that researchers obtain voluntary consent from participants in research. It is also required that IRB review is conducted to ensure whether study protocols meet ethical standards.

Question 2

Discuss why it is important to monitor health policies through descriptive studies.

Answer 2

Descriptive studies address what is occurring related to the person, place, and time. These studies help to monitor health policies by evaluating the effectiveness of interventions that are intended to decrease an adverse health event and prevention strategies that decrease risks and trends. By studying what is occurring, the practitioner can determine if an intervention is effective or can determine if the incidence and prevalence of a condition is improving. For example, when attempting to decrease the incidence and prevalence of obesity, a community health initiative may be developed by the public health department. Through the use of descriptive studies, the practitioner can determine if the initiative is successful over time.

Question 3

Describe an example of a case report.

Answer 3

The answers will vary depending on the study students choose to describe. Some examples of case reports include the development of PCP among 5 males in Los Angeles and the case report of 9 men with lung cancer within a 6 month period in 1927 after the men had started smoking during WWI and continued smoking heavily.

Question 4

The nurse is planning to perform research about the incidence of suicide within the 15 to 19 year old population. Using information about the influence of gender and race/ethnicity, which group does the nurse recognize as having the highest rate of suicide?

A) Non-Hispanic females
B) Non-Hispanic White males
C) Non-Hispanic Black females
D) Non-Hispanic American Indian males

Question 5

When deciding on the parameters of time for a research project, which definition of time does the nurse use if studying an outbreak of influenza on board a cruise ship?

A) Cyclic
B) Clustering
C) Common source
D) Secular trends

Question 6

Which conclusion was drawn from a case report on the incidence of Zika virus in South America and Pacific islands?

A) Early spontaneous abortions occur after viral exposure.
B) Males are the carrier of the virus to females and fetuses.
C) Exposure to the virus can cause microcephaly in fetuses.
D) Once infected, a female carries a high risk with all pregnancies.

Question 7

The nurse is assigned to participate on a committee focused on identifying the specific health risk of pneumonia in the age population of persons 65 years of age and older. Which type of study will provide the committee with information that will help set goals?

A) Age-specific study
B) Disease-specific study
C) Location-specific study
D) Cross-sectional study

Question 8

The nurse is participating in a study involving a population of patients in an acute-care setting. Which method of patient identification does the nurse expect to be used?

A) Street addresses
B) Medical record number
C) Social Security number
D) A unique number code

Question 9

Place is an important variable in descriptive epidemiology because health events can vary according to location.

Question 10

A cross tabulation table involves two variables that can be displayed, one horizontally and the other vertically.

Question 11

Potential participants in research studies generally trust researchers, their process, and their findings.

Question 12

Ethical problems in research have led to potential participants not ________ researchers, the process, and the research findings.

Question 13

The __________ __________ ________ is an example of a research study gone terribly wrong due to the violation of multiple ethical considerations.