A Concise Guide to Observational Studies in Healthcare [Paperback]

A Concise Guide to Observational Studies in Healthcare provides busy healthcare professionals with an easy-to-read introduction and overview to conducting, analysing and assessing observational studies. It is a suitable introduction for anyone without prior knowledge of study design, analysis or conduct as the important concepts are presented throughout the text. It provides an overview to the features of design, analyses and conduct of observational studies, without using mathematical formulae, or complex statistics or terminology and is a useful guide for researchers conducting their own studies, those who participate in studies co-ordinated by others, or who read or review a published report of an observational study. Examples are based on clinical features of people, biomarkers, lifestyle habits and environmental exposures, and evaluating quality of care.

Foreword vii

Preface viii

1 Fundamental concepts 1

2 Outcome measures risk factors and causality 26

3 Effect sizes 47

4 Regression analyses 66

5 Cross-sectional studies 82

6 Case–control studies 108

7 Cohort studies 135

8 Quality of care studies 157

9 Prognostic markers for predicting outcomes 171

10 Systematic reviews and meta-analyses 196

11 Conducting and reporting observational studies 216

Index 239

“A Concise Guide to Observational Studies in Healthcare” is a solid introduction to observational studies. Clinical trials are the gold standard, but with the price of gold what it is, observational studies are a legitimate and affordable way to answer many questions. (Journal of Clinical Research Best Practices 2016)

Allan Hackshaw, Deputy Director, Cancer Research UK & UCL Cancer Trials Centre, Cancer Inlc/