MPH501 Quantitative Methods for Public Health Application

Module 1 Exercise

Question 1An investigator wants to assess whether smoking is a risk factor for pancreatic cancer. Electronic medical records at a local hospital will be used to identify fifty patients with pancreatic cancer.  One hundred patients who are similar but free of pancreatic cancer will also be selected.  Each participant’s medical record will be analyzed for smoking history.  Identify the type of study proposed and indicate its specific strengths and weaknesses.

Question 2What is the most likely source of bias in the study described in Problem 1.

Question 3An investigator wants to assess whether the use of a specific medication given to infants born prematurely is associated with developmental delay. Fifty infants who were given the medication and fifty comparison infants who were also born prematurely but not given the medication will be selected for the analysis. Each infant will undergo extensive testing at age 2 for various aspects of development. Identify the type of study proposed and indicate its specific strengths and weaknesses.

Question 4 A study is planned to assess the effect of a new surgical intervention for gallbladder disease. One hundred patients with gallbladder disease will be randomly assigned to receive either the new surgical intervention or the standard surgical intervention. The efficacy of the new surgical intervention will be measured by the time is takes a patient to return to normal activities, measured in days. Identify the type of study proposed and indicate its specific strengths and weaknesses.