Epidemiological research studies usually utilize different study designs, including cohort study, case-control study, and cross-sectional designs. These designs differ about the period during which the phenomenon and health outcomes are studied and about the used sample (Farrell et al., 2013, p. 3; Ibrahim, Alexander, Shy, & Farr, 1999, p. 1). In the article “Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection-Associated Hospitalization in Adults: A Retrospective Cohort Study”, Volling and the group of researchers presented the results of the epidemiological research based on the use of a retrospective cohort study design (Volling, Hassan, Mazzulli, Green, & Al-Den, 2014, p. 665). It is important to state that the choice of the study design to address a research question usually depends on the specific health outcome and made assumptions.
Summary of the Research Article
To study the role of the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection in causing high rates of morbidity and mortality in the adult population, the researchers focused on conducting a retrospective cohort study that included the sample population involving patients from hospitals in Toronto, Canada (Volling et al., 2014, p. 667). The researchers stated that the examination of RSV epidemiology can become an important step to prevent high rates of deaths from respiratory infection in adults while focusing on the fact that this infection is usually discussed as a matter for research in pediatrics. The retrospective cohort study covered the period of September 2012 – June 2013. Rolling and the group of researchers concentrated on identifying the relationship between mortality rates and the length of stay in hospitals (Volling et al., 2014, p. 667). It was found that the length of hospitalization was directly associated with the effectiveness of treatment and mortality rates because signs and symptoms of the RSV infection can be discussed as nonspecific, but the frequency of complications is high, and the absence of effective care in hospitals can cause deaths in adults, especially, in elderly people.
A Different Type of Epidemiologic Study Design
In order to study the epidemiology of RSV infection in adults, it is also possible to use a cross-sectional design. The reason is that the cross-sectional study is effective to research the phenomenon in terms of risks for adults and with the focus on prevalence. Cross-sectional study designs are important to indicate the possible relationship between RSV infection and increased mortality rates as well as to focus on the relationship between the increased length of hospitalization and decreased risks of morbidity. Furthermore, it is possible to involve a large population in the study, without focusing on the concrete sample group. The proposed study should use the cross-sectional design in order to examine the correlation between the prevalence of the RSV infection, the duration of hospitalization, and mortality rates in adult patients from different hospitals and at a certain period of time. Moreover, to have the opportunity to compare the results, it is also relevant to collect the data during several sessions.
Participants of the Study
Participants involved in the cross-sectional study on the risks associated with the RSV infection can be patients from different hospitals in any community or region. If Volling and the group of researchers oriented to the number of hospitalized patients with the RSV infection during the period of September 2012 – June 2013, the number of participants involved in the proposed study can be higher in order to guarantee that the sample is representative (Volling et al., 2014, p. 668). However, in this case, the number of adult participants with the RSV infection involved in the study also depends on the number of patients in the hospitals determined for the survey. In order to receive the relevant results on the correlation between the duration of hospitalization and mortality rates, it is important to measure the exposure and outcome variables, as well as risk factors, simultaneously. In this context, the prevalence of the mortality from RSV infection will be measured as an outcome variable. The variables will be measured with the help of statistical data analysis.
Strengths and Limitations
The proposed cross-sectional study can be discussed as more advantageous than the retrospective cohort study used by Volling and the group of researchers in spite of the fact that the original cohort design is also effective to research mortality rates associated with infectious diseases. Moreover, retrospective cohort studies can be discussed as often limited to researching the mortality outcomes. However, it is important to note that the proposed cross-sectional study is effective not only to present the data on the prevalence of mortality outcomes but also to provide a discussion of the variety of risk factors in addition to the identified short-term hospitalization, inappropriate diagnosis, and chronic diseases.
The discussion of different epidemiologic study designs provokes posing the following question related to the issue: If both retrospective cohort studies and cross-sectional studies are usually oriented to researching the outcomes associated with mortality rates, what study design is most effective to provide the appropriate background and data for the public health planning?
References
Farrell, M., Sebeny, P., Klena, J. D., DeMattos, C., Pimentel, G., Turner, M., &… Dueger, E. (2013). Influenza risk management: Lessons learned from an A(H1N1) pdm09 outbreak investigation in an operational military setting. Plos ONE, 8(7), 2-7.
Ibrahim, M., Alexander, L., Shy, C., & Farr, S. (1999). Cohort studies. Web.
Volling, C., Hassan, K., Mazzulli, T., Green, K., & Al-Den, A. (2014). Respiratory syncytial virus infection-associated hospitalization in adults: a retrospective cohort study. BMC Infectious Diseases, 14(2), 665-672.