E-Cigarette Use Among Young Adult Patients Assignment
Post a brief description of the studies you were assigned, with a particular focus on the observational study design and methods. Then:
Describe at least one strength and one limitation of each study’s design.
Identify the population, data sources, and epidemiologic measures of association that the authors used.
Finally, share your insights about the appropriateness of the design for the study. Do you agree with the researchers’ choice of design?
Do you agree with the researchers’ conclusions? Justify your reasoning. E-Cigarette Use Among Young Adult Patients Assignment
Hillyer, G. C., Nazareth, M., Lima, S., Schmitt, K. M., Reyes, A., Fleck, E., Schwartz, G. K., & Terry, M. B. (2021). E-cigarette use among young adult patients: The opportunity to intervene on risky lifestyle behaviors to reduce cancer risk links to an external site.. Journal of Community Health. Advance online publication.
Description
The assigned study looked into revealing the correlation between the incident of cancer and the use of e-cigarettes. The researchers identified a sample of 804 adults in primary care within the oncology field and observed the rate of incidences where the patients reported using e-cigarettes at some point in their life. According to the findings, 11.2% of the participants in the observational study revealed that they had ever use e-cigarettes (Hillyer et al., 2021). Previously, researchers provided information on the impact of alcohol consumption and smoking tobacco on the development of cancer, and it is apparent that the researchers in this study focused on presenting evidence relating to the same risk in association with e-cigarettes. E-Cigarette Use Among Young Adult Patients Assignment
Strengths and Limitations
One of the strengths associated with observational study design is the capacity to conduct longitudinal studies. This refers to the ability to observe and collect data over a long time to acquire a higher level of accuracy in making inferences. Observational studies can target a specific sample over a long time, and the researchers benefit from the ability to identify trends and changes in the sample (Rezigalla, 2020). The approach is also effective because it does not alter the variables under study, but focuses on the natural changes in the sample. The approach is also quite cost-effective because it only requires the researchers to collect data without the use of the wide range of resources associated with other designs like experimental design. Furthermore, the ethical requirements when considering the application of this design are not as complex as seen in other designs.
However, observational study design does not allow the researchers to set up the controls available in other designs. The researcher does not have control over the behavior and outcomes of the study, and it is also apparent that the outcomes could be influenced by other unestablished variables (Rezigalla, 2020). For instance, in the assigned study, the cause of cancer among the 11.6% participants could have been other factors aside from the use of e-cigarettes (Hillyer et al., 2021). This implies that observational studies may not always provide accurate information. It is also likely that this design provides generalized inferences, which are not reliable at the professional level. The inability to identify the cause-and-effect relationship between the study variables makes the method quite unreliable, especially when considering the attainment of clinically significant outcomes. E-Cigarette Use Among Young Adult Patients Assignment
Population, Data Sources, and Epidemiologic Measures
In the assigned study, the researchers collected data from 804 adults receiving oncological health care services at a medical center. The sample space was identified through a randomized approach, which enhanced the reliability of the data collected. A statistical method was used to analyze the data, with the confidence interval placed at 95% (Hillyer et al., 2021). A comparative approach was also applied, with respect to two (alcohol and tobacco) related causes of cancer. The researchers only needed to make observations from the information provided by the patients on their previous use of e-cigarettes and the two other factors.
Appropriateness of the Design
The study design was appropriate for the study when consider the development of a generalized inference (Aggarwal & Ranganathan, 2019). The researchers were able to isolate one variable and study its relation to the incidence of cancer among the patients in the sample. However, the information acquired from the study is highly generalized, which implies that it cannot be used to make clinical decisions in programs creating awareness of the risks associated with e-cigarettes. A longitudinal approach could be plausible for this outcome because the researchers would collect more data, and include more participants. There should also be a focus on identifying other factors that could have caused the incidence of e-cigarette related cases of cancer to enhance the accuracy and reliability of the conclusions. E-Cigarette Use Among Young Adult Patients Assignment
References
Aggarwal, R., & Ranganathan, P. (2019). Study designs: Part 2–descriptive studies. Perspectives in clinical research, 10(1), 34. DOI: 10.4103/picr.PICR_154_18.
Hillyer, G. C., Nazareth, M., Lima, S., Schmitt, K. M., Reyes, A., Fleck, E., Schwartz, G. K., & Terry, M. B. (2021). E-cigarette use among young adult patients: The opportunity to intervene on risky lifestyle behaviors to reduce cancer risk links to an external site.. Journal of Community Health. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-021-01027-7.
Rezigalla, A. A. (2020). Observational study designs: Synopsis for selecting an appropriate study design. Cureus, 12(1). https://www.cureus.com/articles/25270-observational-study-designs-synopsis-for-selecting-an-appropriate-study-design.pdf. E-Cigarette Use Among Young Adult Patients Assignment