Posted: July 14th, 2022

Lung Cancer and Smoking Reflection

Nursing
Title: Observational Study Designs
Number of sources: 5
Paper instructions:
A clinical pediatric nurse has noticed a rise in childhood cancer diagnoses among the Hispanic population served by the local clinic. The nurse is concerned about this increase in cancer incidence in the patient population and turns to the literature to explore current research on this topic. The nurse finds through the reading that there appears to be an association between parental smoking and childhood cancer and wonders if this could be the cause of the rise in cases.

This type of suspected association between a risk factor (exposure) and a particular outcome (childhood cancer) can be evaluated using an observational study design. This week, you were introduced to observational study designs used in epidemiology. For this Discussion, you will identify an epidemiologic association of interest (e.g., smoking and lung cancer, obesity and heart disease, hormone replacement/modification therapy and breast cancer) and determine an appropriate observational study design for exploring that association.

To prepare:

Review the different types of observational study designs presented in the Learning Resources: ecologic, cross-sectional, case-control, and cohort.
Carefully examine the characteristics, strengths, and limitations of each design.
Consider an association between a risk factor and a particular health outcome that is of interest to you. Then, select the observational study design you think would be the most appropriate for exploring this association.
Consider how using observational study designs can lead to improvements in population health
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Lung Cancer and Smoking Reflection

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Lung Cancer and Smoking Reflection
Case control studies demonstrate a relationship between lung cancer and smoking is the cause of the rise in the number of cases of lung cancer. According to Doll and Bradford Hill (1999), the causes of cancer include general atmospheric pollution from cars, dust, and industrial plants. Smoking is another major factor that has led to more cases of lung cancer (Jia et al., 2018). For example, between 1922 and 1947, the number of lung cancer deaths increased from 612 to 9,287, a 15 percent rise in the deaths. Doll and Bradford Hill (1999), emphasizes that in Germany, only 3 out of 86 male patients with lung cancer were non-smokers while 56 were heavy smokers. In America, only 14.6 percent of the 82 patients with lung cancer were non-smokers. Doll and Bradford Hill (1999) appreciate that although the studies are not conclusive, they all point in the same direction. Future studies should ascribe to the findings of Papathanasiou and Zintzaras (2010) that the accuracy of reporting improves the credibility of observational studies.
Large-scale case control studies by Wynder and Graham show that out of 605 patients with lung cancer only 1.3 percent were non-smokers. Non-smokers category were described as individuals taking less than one cigarette a day for the last 20 years. Out of the 605 patients, only 51.2 percent had smoked over 20 cigarettes daily for 20 years. The studies indicate that smoking or exposure to pollution could be a major contributing factor to the prevalence of cancer among patients of diverse age groups. Papathanasiou and Zintzaras (2010) show that accurate reporting of observational studies is a major contributor to the accuracy of data of cancer.
Von Elm et al. (2007), shows that case control observational studies are important in showing important interventions. The studies are important in detecting rare or late adverse effects of treatment in medical practice. Von Elm et al. (2007) shows that reporting transparently is crucial in understanding the patterns of various diseases. The approach recommends transparent reporting as a strength in identifying the patterns in public health. The transparent reporting leads to accurate data that improves the response to the health care issues in society today (Munkholm et al., 2020). The efforts are critical in reducing the prevalence of conditions such as lung cancer as a result of smoking or environmental pollution. For example, Doll and Bradford Hill (1999) demonstrate that smoking or environmental pollution are the major contributing factors to lung cancer. Accuracy of data is important in developing quality policies that can eliminate the risks of cancer.
Papathanasiou and Zintzaras (2010) show that reporting quality in case control observational studies should improve. Adoption of the STROBE statement will improve the quality of reporting in observational studies. Papathanasiou and Zintzaras (2010) emphasize that majority of the cancer studies are observational in nature. However, inadequate reporting of the observational studies restrict generalizability and credibility. Improving the reporting rates for cancer studies is crucial in acquiring information that can improve response to the health issue. According to Papathanasiou and Zintzaras (2010), some aspects of observational studies were reported satisfactorily, but some improvements are necessary. Improvements would improve the validity of observational research. Epidemiology studies on cancer are not possible since it is unethical to expose people to some causes to test their impact on their health. Observational studies remain a reliable approach to gather information about the causes of cancer and how to tackle the healthcare issue.

References
Doll, R., & Bradford Hill, A. (1999). Smoking and carcinoma of the lung: preliminary report. Bulletin of the World Health Organization: the International Journal of Public Health 1999; 77 (1): 84-93.
Jia, P. L., Zhang, C., Yu, J. J., Xu, C., Tang, L., & Sun, X. (2018). The risk of lung cancer among cooking adults: a meta-analysis of 23 observational studies. Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology, 144(2), 229-240.
Munkholm, K., Faurholt-Jepsen, M., Ioannidis, J. P., & Hemkens, L. G. (2020). Consideration of confounding was suboptimal in the reporting of observational studies in psychiatry: a meta-epidemiological study. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 119, 75-84.
Papathanasiou, A. A., & Zintzaras, E. (2010). Assessing the quality of reporting of observational studies in cancer. Annals of Epidemiology, 20(1), 67-73.
Von Elm, E., Altman, D. G., Egger, M., Pocock, S. J., Gøtzsche, P. C., & Vandenbroucke, J. P. (2007). The Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) statement: guidelines for reporting observational studies. Annals of Internal Medicine, 147(8), 573-577.

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Tags: 150-200 words discussion with a scholarly reference, 200-300 words response to classmate discussion question, 250 word analysis essay, bachelor of nursing assignments, case study