7 Cross Sectional Studies

Question 1

cross-sectional studies are also called ____________________

Answer 1

prevalence surveys

Question 2

CSS can be thought of as a _______________________ because data are collected and evaluated at a single point in time

Answer 2

snapshot (slice) of time

Question 3

CSS is more of a hypothesis ___________ rather than hypothesis ________________

Answer 3

generating; testing

Question 4

CSS is not suited for testing the effectiveness of ____________________

Answer 4

interventions

Question 5

T/F: CSS are most often used descriptively

Answer 5

T

Question 6

most often used descriptively to __________________________ about a population (eg. disease prevalence) but may also be used to ______________________ between an independent (exposure) and a dependent (outcome) variable

Answer 6

capture information; examine associations

Question 7

T/F: CSS establishes causality or relationship between independent (exposure) and dependent (outcome) variable

Answer 7

F (does not establish as CSS is used descriptively, thus only EXAMINES ASSOCIATION)

Question 8

T/F: CSS is quick and easy to perform

Answer 8

T

Question 9

CSS is useful for ________________ current health status or _______________ priorities for disease control

Answer 9

measuring; setting

Question 10

CSS study design

Answer 10

1. questionnaire
2. surveys

Question 11

answering a census or through mail or telephone calls are considered what type of study design?

Answer 11

questionnaire

Question 12

standardized questionnaire used to describe a population at a given point in time

Answer 12

surveys

Question 13

surveys are generally used to _________________ a population

Answer 13

characterize

Question 14

steps involved in study design

Answer 14

1. identify [target pop]
2. select [indiv from pop]
3. collect [data]
4. analyze [data]

Question 15

population with desired clinical and demographic characteristics that will ultimately benefit from generalization of the study findings

Answer 15

target population (identifying target pop)

Question 16

extent to which observations in the study population extrapolates to the overall population of interest

Answer 16

generalizability

Question 17

selecting a subset of the target population to conduct a study

Answer 17

sampling

Question 18

types of sampling

Answer 18

1. random sampling
2. stratified random sampling using characteristics (e.g., age or gender)
3. convenience sampling

Question 19

most common type of sampling

Answer 19

convenience sampling

Question 20

CSS data collection may either be _______________ or __________________

Answer 20

retrospective or prospective

Question 21

sample of retrospective data collection

Answer 21

prescription records

Question 22

sample of prospective data collection

Answer 22

survey

Question 23

T/F: analysis step of CSS study design is not purely descriptive

Answer 23

F (purely descriptive)

Question 24

step of study design involved in summarizing the characteristics of the population using means and percentages

Answer 24

analysis

Question 25

how are characteristics summarized during analysis

Answer 25

using means and percentages

Question 26

have potential biases that should be considered and interpreted cautiously

Answer 26

analytical cross-sectional studies

Question 27

CSS limitations

Answer 27

1. bias on sampling and temporality 2. may not give generalizations

Question 28

CSS concerns/problems

Answer 28

1. errors in data collection 2. transient effects

Question 29

responses that are affected by event, feeling or other circumstance that happened prior to data collection

Answer 29

transient effect

Question 30

reports without control grps

Answer 30

1. case studies 2. case reports 3. case series

Question 31

reports w/o ctrl grps can be ________________ or _________________ reports

Answer 31

observational or interventional

Question 32

key characteristic of case studies, case reports, and case series

Answer 32

lack of control or comparison group

Question 33

record of descriptive research that documents a practitioner’s experiences, thoughts, or observations related to the care of a single patient

Answer 33

case study

Question 34

case study focuses on the _____________

Answer 34

practitioner

Question 35

descriptive record of a single individual (case report) in which the possibility of an association between an observed effect and a specific intervention or exposure (often an unexpected complication of treatment or procedure) based on detailed clinical evaluation and history of the individual

Answer 35

case report

Question 36

group of records (case studies) that documents a practitioner’s experiences, thoughts, or observations related to the care of multiple patients with similar medical situations

Answer 36

case series

Question 37

types of case reports

Answer 37

1. disease identification 2. ADR-reporting 3. new treatment approach 4. educational 5. quality assurance

Question 38

previously unknown or variant of known condition

Answer 38

disease identification

Question 39

reader must avoid generalization of rare condition

Answer 39

disease identification

Question 40

most common source of information for drug removal

Answer 40

ADR reporting

Question 41

excellent in identifying rare and serious ADRs

Answer 41

ADR reporting

Question 42

utility in identifying ADRs in special populations

Answer 42

ADR reporting

Question 43

used to generate hypothesis for further testing with a more resource-intensive design

Answer 43

new treatment approach

Question 44

may lead to unsubstantiated use of medications for unapproved indications

Answer 44

new treatment approach

Question 45

present a scenario to help clinicians improve practice skills

Answer 45

educational

Question 46

practice errors can illustrate problems to avoid by other practitioners

Answer 46

quality assurance

Question 47

strengths of case reports

Answer 47

1. identifies: rare occurrences and delayed ADRs 2. hypothesis generation 3. requires minimal resources

Question 48

weaknesses of case reports

Answer 48

1. no causal inference, statistical analysis 2. potential for reporting bias and false results

Question 49

strengths of case series

Answer 49

1. results are closer to those of routine clinical practice 2. may be useful when a randomized controlled trial is challenging to conduct 3. high external validity 4. cost-effective and time saving design

Question 50

weaknesses of case series

Answer 50

1. no causal inference 2. susceptible to selection and measurement bias 3. absolute risk cannot be calculated 4. data collection may be incomplete

Question 51

reports w/o control grps are useful for early recognition of ___________________ and ______________

Answer 51

drug toxicities and teratogenicity

Question 52

an important initial step in the formulation of hypotheses

Answer 52

reports w/o control groups

Question 53

T/F: when possible, results should be confirmed with randomized controlled clinical trials

Answer 53

T