PRINCIPLES OF EPIDEMIOLOGY

TOPIC: Multicausality: Confounding Assignment

These estimates include the influence of other extraneous variables, such as confounders. Confounding is often considered a type of bias, but it is a real relationship that requires an adjustment in the study design or analysis. Understanding how to identify confounding is important as most associations have multiple causal factors. Recognizing if a study adjusted for the appropriate confounding variables is important to determine the validity of the association. To assist your proficiency with the concept of confounding, and how it ultimately affects public health, this practice assignment has been provided.

Complete Problems 1 to 4 from the “Multicausality: Confounding – Assignment” by Schoenbach, located in your Topic Materials. Check your answers against the solutions presented in the “Multicausality: Confounding – Assignment Solutions” Topic Material.

While APA style is not required for the body of this assignment, solid academic writing is expected, and documentation of sources should be presented using APA formatting guidelines.

STUDY MATERIALS

Read Chapters 7-9 in Gordis Epidemiology.

View “Randomized Control Trials and Confounding,” by Martin (2013), located on the YouTube website. URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ybuE39BpQ8

Read “2020 LHI Topics,” located on the Healthy People 2020 website. URL: https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/leading-health-indicators/2020-LHI-Topics

Complete the “Multicausality: Confounding – Assignment,” by Schoenbach (2001), located on the Epidemilog.netwebsite. URL: http://www.epidemiolog.net/evolving/ConfoundingAssgt.pdf

Refer to the “Multicausality: Confounding – Assignment Solutions,” by Schoenbach (2001), located on the Epidemilog.netwebsite, to check your answers to the assignment. URL: http://www.epidemiolog.net/evolving/ConfoundingSolns.pdf

Read “Understanding Controlled Trials: Why Are Randomized Controlled Trials Important?” by Sibbald and Roland, from British Medical Journal (1998). URL:http://search.proquest.com.lopes.idm.oclc.org/docview/1777585669/fulltextPDF/2BDCED02960C4E6APQ/1?accountid=7374