DISCUSSION RESPONSES
Epidemiological Study Designs in the Media
Epidemiology
Post a response to the following:
· Briefly summarize the study you found, and then include the citations for both the mass media and the peer-reviewed articles.
· Explain what epidemiological concepts are included in the mass media article (e.g., measures of association, study design, confounders, and bias) and how they compare to those in the peer-reviewed article.
· Give your assessment of how well the mass media article represented the actual research that was conducted. Describe any obvious omissions from the mass media article that epidemiologists critiquing the study would need to know.
· Finally, imagine that a patient brings this mass media article to you and asks you for your informed opinion. Explain how you would respond or interpret the article for the patient.
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PEER #1
Epidemiological Study Designs in the Media
Mass media plays a fundamental role in informing the populace about many issues. Regarding health, mass media informs and educates people, improving health literacy among individuals, groups, and communities. Often, articles conduct an in-depth review of a health issue by referencing and summarizing peer-reviewed research. Such articles help epidemiologists to understand the causes of some diseases, at-risk populations, and how they spread across populations.
Summary of the Study in the Mass Media Article
Knowing how diabetes occurs in different populations and the causative agents can help epidemiologists and healthcare stakeholders implement appropriate prevention measures. An article in the New York Times by Rabin (2023) summarized the findings of a study exploring how COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) increases the risk of type 2 diabetes. The increased risk implies more infections in vulnerable populations than in others. The primary study was established on the precept that COVID-19 infection may lead to acute and chronic sequelae. In response, Naveed et al. (2023) studied whether COVID-19 is associated with incident diabetes. After conducting a cohort study of 629935 tested individuals, researchers found that the cases of diabetes associated with diabetes were 3.41% to 4.75%, inferring a higher risk of diabetes after COVID-19 infection.
Epidemiological Concepts in the Mass Media Article
Various epidemiological concepts have been included in the article, allowing readers to understand the study population, methods, and findings. For instance, Rabin (2023) mentioned that the study used a large data set to compare diabetes diagnoses among Covid-positive individuals in 2020 and 2021. Such a design typifies a cohort study, where researchers follow a group of people with shared characteristics over time to establish how many will achieve a particular health outcome (Wang & Kattan, 2020). The other concept is the risk ratio, where the article stated that the risk of diabetes is higher among men and those with severe diseases. The research article confirmed that it was a cohort study in British Columbia. Concerning the risk ratio, Naveed et al. (2023) found that COVID-19 infection increased the burden of diabetes by 3%-5%. However, the findings may infer increased risk and not a confirmation that COVID-19 causes diabetes.
How the Mass Media Article Represented the Actual Research
The news article highlights the research covered in the main article. It represents the research accurately and significantly since it provides the hypothesis, study population, data collection method, and main findings. Reading it shows the relationship between COVID-19 and diabetes and how the risk is high among the infected men and those with severe disease. The obvious omission by Rabin (2023) is the risk ratio, participants’ demographic characteristics, strengths of the study, and limitations. Epidemiologists need this information to establish whether the increased diabetes infections were due to COVID-19 or other issues, such as the type of care or existing conditions, influenced outcomes.
Interpreting the Article for a Patient
Patients need accurate information to make informed health decisions. The best way to interpret the article is to focus on the risk association between Covid-19 and type 2 diabetes. The patient should be helped to understand that the influence of COVID-19 on chronic diseases cannot be overlooked, notwithstanding the risk ratio. As a result, individuals and communities should take the necessary precautions to prevent disease development and progression and to address significant differences among populations in infection rates and mortality.
Conclusion
Epidemiology focuses on infection occurrence and distribution in populations. Mass media, including print, television, and radio, informs people about infections, enabling them to take the necessary precautions. The article by Rabin (2023) demonstrates how COVID-19 could increase the risk of diabetes, increasing the burden on the affected populations. The article is a summarized version of Naveed et al.’s (2023) research, highlighting mass media’s commitment to providing verifiable and accurate health information.
References
Naveed, Z., García, H. A. V., Wong, S., Wilton, J., McKee, G., Mahmood, B., … & Janjua, N. Z. (2023). Association of COVID-19 infection with incident diabetes.
JAMA Network Open,
6(4), e238866-e238866. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.8866
Rabin, R. C. (2023).
Covid may increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, researchers find. The New York Times.
Wang, X., & Kattan, M. W. (2020). Cohort studies: Design, analysis, and reporting.
Chest,
158(1), S72-S78.
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PEER#2
Nurs 6700. Week 7 Discussion: Initial Post
Briefly summarize the study you found, and then include the citations for both the mass media and the peer-reviewed articles.
I found an article published by Harvard Gazette discussing a novel therapy for Glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. The Phase 1 clinical trial focused on a new approach to CAR-T therapy, showing promising results with a dramatic decrease in tumor size observed in some patients after a single treatment. The therapy involves a combination of CAR-T with bispecific antibodies seeking to offer more effective treatment for solid tumors such as Glioblastoma. Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy works by using a patient’s cells to fight cancer, and the approach allows for an individualized method for treating cancer. The authors noted that despite a remarkable response among the first three patients, they eventually observed tumor progression in all cases. However, in one patient, there was no tumor progression in the first six months of this therapy (Choi et al., 2024).
Explain what epidemiological concepts are included in the mass media article (e.g., measures of association, study design, confounders, and bias) and how they compare to those in the peer-reviewed article.
The original article by Choi et al. (2024) offers detailed information on the research design, described as a non-randomized open-label single-site study that the institutional review board at Dana had approved–Farber/Harvard Cancer Center. The study initially enrolled participants in a safety run-in cohort before proceeding with other cohorts with the study protocol specifying that eligible participants must be at least 18 years old and have a pathologically confirmed diagnosis of World Health Organization grade 4, recurrent Glioblastoma with positive EGFRvIII expression. Participants were required to have a measurable disease, defined as having at least one lesion with a minimum diameter of 10 mm on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Those who had previously received EGFRvIII-targeted therapy were excluded from the study. Nevertheless, the mass media article fails to delve into these epidemiological concepts and only focuses on the effectiveness of the interventions and the dramatic results of the trial.
Give your assessment of how well the mass media article represented the actual research that was conducted. Describe any obvious omissions from the mass media article that epidemiologists critiquing the study would need to know.
The mass media article offers a simplified overview of the research, highlighting the promising results of the therapy. Nevertheless, it does not explain the research design, methodology, and potential limitations emanating from the research. This could provide an incomplete understanding of the research to the readers who relied solely on the mass media article. They may overestimate the potential impact of the intervention delivered considering that the mass media article does not highlight the limitations of the research, such as the involvement of a small non-random sample of patients from a single healthcare facility, a clear indication that the findings may not be generalized to the entire population.
Finally, imagine that a patient brings this mass media article to you and asks you for your informed opinion. Explain how you would respond or interpret the article for the patient.
If a patient comes to me with the mass media article and asks for an informed opinion, I would explain that the article presented findings of a promising therapy for Glioblastoma, which has shown some significant potential in decreasing the size of the tumor in a small number of patients who took part in the first phase of the trial. I would urge the patient to wait for the findings from other phases of the study and inform them that the findings are preliminary and that further research is essential to confirm the effectiveness and safety of the therapy. I would also encourage the patient if he or she has this type of cancer, to talk to a specialist in the field of oncology to receive personalized advice based on the latest research findings and their health condition.
References
Bridger H. (2024, March 14).
‘Dramatic’ inroads against aggressive brain cancer— Harvard gazette. Harvard Gazette.
to an external site.
Choi, B. D., Gerstner, E. R., Frigault, M. J., Leick, M. B., Mount, C. W., Balaj, L., & Maus, M. V. (2024). Intraventricular CARv3-TEAM-E T cells in recurrent Glioblastoma.
15(5), 1-9.
New England Journal of Medicine. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2314390
