Introduction to Epidemiology Assessment

This assignment is based on the learning objectives and concepts in Topics 1-10. There are a total of 100 marks and this assignment will contribute 50% towards the total assessment for this subject. The marking matrix that will be used for this assignment is also attached.

Assignments should be submitted via vUWS. See specific instructions below relating to the format of Assignment 3. Be as concise as possible in your answers, and note that there are word limitation.

Select one of the following papers :

Wu M, Wang, C, Bai Y, Huang, C, Lee S. Outcomes of obese Clozapine-treated in-patients with schizophrenia placed on six-month diet and physical activity program.Psychiatrics services, 2007;58(4):544.

Or

Liu S, Manson JE, Stampfer MJ, Hu FB, et al. A prospective study of whole-grain intake and the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus in US women American Journal of Public Health, 2000; 90:1409-1414

Reflect upon the content of the topics we have covered in this course, and critically appraise the article you have selected by answering the following questions. You may use additional source material as you need to.

Please use your own words.

Review the University plagiarism policy before starting (see the Course Learning guide).!!

Critical appraisal is showing understanding of the paper using epidemiological tools!

The following sections is the guide to your assignment. These points should be addressed.

You can use the same subheading or your own. The content of the text below the subheading should match.

This includes demonstrating understanding of the issue investigated, its importance and rationale for doing it, research questions and main factors under studies what were the main findings and authors conclusions. Shouldn't be more than 1 page!

2) Appraise the internal validity

To what extent can the observed association between the exposure and outcome be attributed to non-causal explanations? Are the results likely to be affected by chance variation? -Are the results likely to be affected by biases, what kind of biases ? corroborate your arguments with details from the paper! are the results likely to be affected by confounding? If yes what are those that authors have missed? Back it up with referencing, has any interaction or sub-group analysis was conducted bring evidence from paper

This is based on your conclusion on internal validity but also appraisal of possible causal association based on several criteria we have covered in class

can the findings be applied to the source population from which the study population was derived? -Can the study results be applied to other relevant populations? Appraise the overall quality of the discussion section.