Selecting A Population Health Problem

Selecting a Population Health Problem

As you know, promoting positive social change is a part of the Walden mission. To be an effective agent for social change, nurses must be able to logically and critically analyze population health issues using epidemiologic concepts, and then communicate insights in a succinct and professional manner. This exercise will afford you such an experience.

This week, you will complete Assignment 1 in preparation for Major Assessment 7, in which you will apply epidemiologic principles and develop an intervention for a health problem.

For this Assignment, you will examine a health problem of interest to you, and you will develop a brief paper (2 pages) outlining the significance of the health problem and describing it in terms of person, place, and time. This outline will help your Instructor determine if the topic you selected is appropriate for the Major Assessment paper.

Prepare for Assignment 1 as follows:

Review the Major Assessment Overview (see attached).
Determine a population health problem that is viable for completing this paper. You may use the problem you identified in the Week 1, 2, or Week 3 Discussion, or you may select a new one.
Determine the characteristics of the health problem in terms of person, place, and time.
Using the Walden Library and credible websites, conduct additional research on your selected population health problem. Consider the significance of this health problem.
Examine how Healthy People 2020, listed in the Learning Resources, supports the importance of addressing your selected health problem.
Develop a preliminary research question or hypothesis appropriate for your topic.
To complete:

Write a 2-page paper that addresses the following:

1) Introduction (must end with a purpose statement, e.g. “the purpose of this paper is …)

2) Describe the population health problem in terms of person, place, and time.

3) From the primary research literature and Healthy People 2020, briefly explain the significance of this health problem.

4) Include your preliminary research question or hypothesis. (PICOT format for the research question).

5) A conclusion

By Day 7 (tomorrow Sunday 03/18/2018 at 4 pm latest Submit your a 2-page paper in order to receive feedback on your topic

Required Readings

Friis, R. H., & Sellers, T. A. (2014). Epidemiology for public health practice (5th ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett.

Chapter 6, “Study Designs: Ecologic, Cross-Sectional, Case Control”

Chapter 7, “Study Designs: Cohort Studies”

Chapter 6 presents an overview of analytic study designs used in epidemiology, differentiating between experimental studies (which will be addressed next week) and observational studies (the focus of this week). In the chapter, the authors address three varieties of observational studies—ecological, cross-sectional, and case control. Chapter 7 addresses cohort studies, another form of observational design.

Doll, R., & Hill, A. B. (1999). Smoking and carcinoma of the lung. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 77(1), 84–93.

This landmark case-control study established the relationship between smoking and lung cancer.

Framingham Heart Study. (1998). Epidemiological background and design: The Framingham study. Retrieved from https://biolincc.nhlbi.nih.gov/static/studies/framcohort/Epidemiological_Background_and_Design.pdf

The Framingham Heart Study is one of the first and largest cohort studies that measured the distribution of suspected risk factors in a large population and then tracked the development of heart disease in that cohort.

Papathanasiou, A. A., & Zintzaras, E. (2010). Assessing the quality of reporting of observational studies in cancer. Annals of Epidemiology, 20(1), 67–73.

In this article, the authors assess the quality of reporting of observational cancer studies, noting opportunities for improvement.

Von Elm, E., Altman, D. G., Egger, M., Pocock, S. J., Gøtzsche, P. C., & Vandenbroucke, J. P. (2007). Strengthening the reporting of observational studies in epidemiology (STROBE) statement: Guidelines for reporting observational studies. Annals of Internal Medicine, 147(8), 573–577.

A consortium of scientists and medical researchers created a checklist of 22 recommended items that should be included in reports about three common observational study designs: case-control, cohort, and cross-sectional studies. This collaborative effort is an important step toward the goal of improving the quality, credibility, and generalizability of analytical research.

Healthy People 2020. (2011). Topics & objectives index. Retrieved from http://healthypeople.gov/2020/topicsobjectives2020/default.aspx

Healthy People 2020 focuses on improving population health locally and nationally. Review the topics and objectives of Healthy People 2020 as you prepare for Assignment 2.

Required Media

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2012). Epidemiology and population health: Observational studies [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 9 minutes.

In this week’s program, the presenters discuss observational studies as a means of establishing an association between an exposure or risk factor and a disease outcome. Two types of observational designs are featured: cohort and case control studies.

Optional Resources

The following ERIC notebook guides present information in a reader-friendly study guide format.

Ibrahim, M., Alexander, L., Shy, C., & Farr, S. (1999). Cohort studies. ERIC Notebook, 3, 1–4. Retrieved from http://cphp.sph.unc.edu/trainingpackages/ERIC/eric_notebook_3.pdf

Ibrahim, M., Alexander, L., Shy, C., & Farr, S. (1999). Incidence measures in cohort studies. ERIC Notebook, 4, 1–4. Retrieved from http://cphp.sph.unc.edu/trainingpackages/ERIC/eric_notebook_4.pdf

Ibrahim, M., Alexander, L., Shy, C., & Farr, S. (1999). Case-control studies. ERIC Notebook, 5, 1–4. Retrieved from http://cphp.sph.unc.edu/trainingpackages/ERIC/eric_notebook_5.pdf

Ibrahim, M., Alexander, L., Shy, C., & Farr, S. (1999). Cross-sectional studies. ERIC Notebook, 7, 1–4. Retrieved from http://cphp.sph.unc.edu/trainingpackages/ERIC/eric_notebook_7.pdf

Ibrahim, M., Alexander, L., Shy, C., & Farr, S. (2000). Ecologic studies. ERIC Notebook, 12, 1–4. Retrieved from http://cphp.sph.unc.edu/trainingpackages/ERIC/eric_notebook_12.pdf
NURS 8310: Epidemiology and Population Health

Major Assessment Overview

Major Assessment 7: Using an Epidemiological Approach to Critically Analyze a Population Health Issue

Write a 12- to 15-page paper that addresses the following:

Section 1: The Problem (developed as Assignment 2; submitted at the end of Week 6)

· A brief outline of the environment you selected (i.e., home, workplace, school)

· A summary of your selected population health problem in terms of person, place, and time, and the magnitude of the problem based on data from appropriate data resources (Reference the data resources you used.)

· Research question/hypothesis

Section 2: Research Methods (developed as Assignment 2; submitted at the end of Week 6)

· The epidemiologic study design you would use to assess and address your population health problem.

· Assessment strategies (i.e., if you were conducting a case-control study, how would you select your cases and controls? Regarding the methods and tools you would use to make these selections, how is it convenient for you as the researcher or as the investigator to use this tool?)

· Summary of the data collection activities (i.e., how you would collect data—online survey, paper/pen, mailing, etc.)

Section 3: The Intervention (developed as Assignment 3; submitted at the end of Week 8)

· An outline of an intervention you would implement to address the population health problem with your selected population based on the results of the study in Section 2. Note: If you selected a descriptive study design, you are still required to outline an intervention that might be developed based on future research on.

· A review of the literature that supports this intervention

Section 4: The Impact (developed as Assignment 3; submitted at the end of Week 8)

· An explanation of the health outcome you would be seeking and the social impact of solving this issue

Section 5: Evaluation (developed as Assignment 4; submitted at the end of Week 9)

· An evaluation plan based upon the health outcome that you have chosen and your anticipated results

The Final Paper (with feedback incorporated) is due by Day 3 of Week 11. This serves as your Major Assessment for this course.

Your written assignments must follow APA guidelines. Be sure to support your work with specific citations from appropriate Learning Resources and additional scholarly sources as appropriate. Refer to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association to ensure that your in-text citations and reference list are correct.

© 2012 Laureate Education Inc. 1

 

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