Cross-sectional Study – Flashcards
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goal of study
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to measure the proportion of a population with a particular exposure or disease at ONE POINT IN TIME based on a representative sample of a population
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why are they among the most popular study approaches?
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they allow for the relatively rapid collection of new data
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uses
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-describe communities -assess population needs -evaluate programs -establish baseline data prior to the initiation of longitudinal studies
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cross-sectional studies use a _______ design
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simple study design - the researchers asks a few 100 people to complete a short questionnaire and then analyzes data
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very important requirement (participants)
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participants must be reasonably representative of some larger population
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if a researcher wants the results of a survey to be ______ to all town residents, it is NOT acceptable to use a ________ population (friends, fans attending football game, individuals attending chiropractic clinic, shoppers at grocery store between 12-2pm on Tuesday)
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"generalizable" & convenience population
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if the results of a cross-sectional survey are intended to reflect the profile of an entire town (or other population group), then the study's sampling strategy must recruit a population that is as _______ as the town
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diverse
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prevalence
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the proportion of the population with a given trait at the time of the survey
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an exposure can be said to be _____ or _____ to a disease, but a cross-sectional survey cannot show that _______
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an exposure can be said to be "associated" or "related" to a disease, but a cross-sectional survey cannot show that an exposure caused a disease
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objective
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describe the exposure and/or disease status in a population
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primary study question
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what is the prevalence of the exposure and/or disease in the population?
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population
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the study participants must be representative of the population from which they were drawn
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when to use this approach
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time is limited and/or the budget is small
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requirement(s)
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the exposures and outcomes are relatively common, and the likelihood of being able to recruit several 100 participants is strong
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first (3) steps
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1. define a source population 2. develop a strategy for recruiting a representative sample 3. decide on the methods to be used for data collection
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what to watch out for
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non-representativeness of study population
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key statistical measure
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prevalence
