Week 5 Flashcards
EBM levels of evidence pyraamid
meta analysis systemic review RCT cohort study case control study case series and case reports animal studies/laboratory studies
What is a RCT used for
treatment questions and diagnosis questions
Cohort studies
- type Q
- when use
- answer questions of prognosis and etiology/harm
- use when no RCT
Case control studies
- what Q
- when use
- answer questions of prognosis, etiology/harm
- used when no cohort studies
case series and case reports
- what Q
- when use
- answer questions of prognosis or etiology/harm
- when no case control studies
4 classifications of research
Nature of research
time frame of research
investigator approach
type of data
what are the 2 natures of research
descriptive and explanatory
what are the 3 time frames of research
prospective, retrospective, cross sectional
what are the 2 types of investigator approach
observational and experimental
what are the types of data
qualitative and quantitative
Observational investigator approach
investigator not influence what subjects exposed to
-track natural course/progression
Experimental investigator approach
-investigator controls exposures that may influence outcome of interest
4 components of true experimental design
1) manipulation
- investigator controls what happens during study
2) control
- presence of group that does not receive intervention being studied
- accounts for outside factors that may affect study
3) random assignment
- study subjects randomly allocated to intervention or control
4) random selection
- study subjects randomly chosen from total eligible population
are experimental studies randomized wrt selection of control/intervention subjects from population
yes
are observational studies randomized wrt selection of control/intervention subjects from population
no
why is non-random allocation to exposure/control a problem in observational studies
ie. what is the problem with non-randomized studies
-variable may be due to selection
+ex. physician chose more sick people for exposure rather than healthier
-characteristics heavily influence outcome
Characteristics of observational studies (3)
exposure –> outcome
less rigid than controlled studies
ASSOCIATIONS NOT CAUSE AND EFFECT
why observational studies?
not possible have RCT to support every intervention
-still accept some interventions in spite of no RCT
+parachute example
necessity of observational studies (3)
- extent of disease (distribution/epidemiology)
- etiology of diseases (risk factors)
- evaluate interventions (such as medications) in large populations to detect rare outcomes
Exposure event rate
EER - proportion of subjects in exposure group experiencing the event
EER = a/(a+b) ; a= outcome, b=no outcome where a and b are in the exposure group
Control event rate (CER)
CER - proportion of subjects in control group experiencing event
CER = c/(c+d) ; c= outcome and d = no outcome where c and d occur in control group
Relative risk
risk of developing disease or adverse event in participants EXPOSED to specific variable compared to those not
RER = EER/CER