Instructions:
The use of statistics in epidemiology to helps determine differences in risk due to exposures and allows for the evaluation of associations with respect to validity in order to strengthen study conclusions. Imagine that you are an epidemiologist investigating the development of leukemia associated with occupational exposures to benzene. Employment records identify a total of 9,024 individuals who have worked in a facility where benzene is present. Of the 9,024 individuals, you are able to locate 3,249 individuals. Of those persons located, 487 have leukemia.
Your investigative team also decides to conduct an occupational surveillance program at a facility to identify those who are subjected to excessive benzene exposures.
You screen a total of 1,832 workers using a new diagnostic test, and 214 workers with excessive benzene exposure test positive. A negative test finding was observed in 29 workers who had excessive exposure to benzene, and 90 workers without excessive benzene exposure tested positive.
1. Identify potential sources of bias in this study.
2. Describe how these potential sources of bias could be addressed in future studies.
3. Based on the results of the screening test, construct a 2 x 2 table and calculate the following measures:
a. Sensitivity
b. Specificity
c. Prevalence of excessive benzene exposure
d. Positive predictive value
e. Negative predictive value
f. Accuracy
4. Based on the results of the screening program, what conclusions would you draw regarding the new diagnostic test?
Please make sure that you answer each part of the question and that you do so using complete sentences, proper spelling and grammar, etc. Make sure your answers are thorough, yet concise and that you support your responses with at least two (2) appropriately cited references. Wikipedia is not an acceptable reference.
Important:
* Each answer under each question.
* Primary sources and original papers are the only acceptable references. Direct quotes are not allowed, because they do not demonstrate that you comprehend the information, only that you can cut and paste from the reference into a Word document. All references MUST be properly cited using APA format. (Hint – A web address is not a full citation). Failure to properly cite any and all references is considered plagiarism and will not be tolerated.
* Please use the sources that I can access without fee. And provide the link of the reference if it web, page numbers if it book.
* In text citation must include.