1. Are there relationships between personal (hygiene, eating habits, wearing of masks) social (public gatherings, proximity to one another) demographic (age, gender, education, racial ethnicity), and economic (occupation, level of education, annual income, home environment) factors and the spread, severity, and mortality rates of COVID patients worldwide?
2. Is there a difference in behaviour changes in people who have undergone cognitive behaviour therapy versus those who undergo pharmacologic intervention alone?
3. What is the difference in infection rates, pain intensity, inflammation, and restoration of functionality in people who have received prophylactic antibiotics and those who do not receive the prophylactic antibiotics during endodontic surgery?
4. What are nurses’ perceptions towards patients who are non-adherent to the prescribed medications and are always complaining of deteriorating health?
Question one: dependent and independent variables.
The dependent variables in the first question are hygiene eating habits, wearing masks, public gatherings, proximity to one another, occupation, level of education, annual income and home environment (variables), COVID patients (Population) and spread, severity, and mortality rates. (testability). The independent variables include age, gender, and race.
Why question 1?
The end of 2019 set the beginning of what would become a life-changing experience for virtually everyone worldwide in the following one year. When COVID-19 first struck in Wuhan China, nobody speculated that the disease would later spread across the globe, killing millions of people and negatively impacting the livelihood of the affected. Other than the deaths that the disease has brought upon innocent people, their governments across the nations have implemented stringent policies to help curb the spread, such as national lockdowns, closure of schools and other institutions, curfews, and other strict rules, all intended to prevent the infection rates. These government intervention measures had a huge economic, social, and personal impact on people and led to other problems, including but not limited to mental health.
Surprisingly, the disease was affecting different nations on varying intensities. For example, back in March 2020 COVID deaths in Italy were ranging above 700 on a daily basis while during the same time, there were very few cases and deaths in Africa (Di Lorenzo & Di Trolio, 2020; Onder et al., 2020). There were speculations that upon reaching Africa, COVID would lead to very high infection and mortality rates due to the poor healthcare systems and the relatively low economic status of most African countries. However, this turned out to be wrong as to date, the developed countries such as the USA, UK, and other European countries have the largest numbers of COVID cases and deaths (Bamgboye et al., 2020).
The relatively low numbers of new cases and deaths in Africa is intriguing. This calls for research to establish the relationship between the prevalence of COVID, race, sociodemographic, economic, and other factors that might be attributable to the difference in the disease prevalence between Africa and other continents. This research would be of significance in establishing the virulence and the infective characteristics of the disease; therefore aiding scientists and epidemiologists in designing effective control measures for disease spread and prevention.
Tables
References
Bamgboye, E. L., Omiye, J. A., Afolaranmi, O. J., Davids, M. R., Tannor, E. K., Wadee, S., Niang, A., Were, A., & Naicker, S. (2020). COVID-19 Pandemic: Is Africa Different? Journal of the National Medical Association. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnma.2020.10.001
Di Lorenzo, G., & Di Trolio, R. (2020). Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) in Italy: Analysis of Risk Factors and Proposed Remedial Measures. Frontiers in Medicine, 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2020.00140
Onder, G., Rezza, G., & Brusaferro, S. (2020). Case-Fatality Rate and Characteristics of Patients Dying in Relation to COVID-19 in Italy. JAMA. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.4683
REPLY 2
Part 1
Exploratory
To what extent do delayed screening and treatment of hypertension in children influence their health life in
their later stages of life, and from what age do the effects start to become severe?
Descriptive
How is the quality of primary learning institutions related to the children’s susceptibility to specific physical
injuries and health complications?
Qualitative
How do interventions to promote the health and survival chances of pre-term babies differ in effectiveness
and efficiency?
Hypothesis-generating studies
Are children aged below 12 years and born prematurely likely to have a weaker immune system than term-
born babies?
Part 2
Research question: Are children aged below 12 years and born prematurely likely to have a weaker immune
system than term-born babies?
In this research, the independent variable is the immune system, described by the child’s susceptibility to
infections provided by their parents and hospital records. The dependent variable is whether they are born
maturely (having completed the gestation period) or prematurely. The population of the study comprises
children below age 12. This category has significantly low self-consciousness levels and is more likely to
expose themselves to infectious agents while they play. Also, parents are more observant of these children
and quickly notice a disorder and present them to the health practitioner for intervention. The relationship
between the independent and dependent variables can be established by determining how the child has
attended a hospital to receive medical care. Also, the study considers the condition type for which the child
was diagnosed. A child with many hospital visits has a weaker immune system, particularly those admitted for
immuno-compromising conditions such as bacterial or viral infections. Also, other health complications like
blood clotting ability and allergies are included.
I chose this question because I was born prematurely. My mother tells me that my childhood was difficult
because I would often get sick and delay me entering school. Notably, this susceptibility was attributed to me
playing in the dirt, after which I ended up being infected with disease-causing microorganisms. She adds that
my wounds would take longer to heal than my siblings. In other words, my body had immunity deficiency. As a
pediatric nurse, I have witnessed many cases of children born prematurely and the health complications they
experience while growing up. In particular, approximately 30 percent of pediatric ward admissions comprise
children that are immunocompromised, most of whom are born prematurely. According to Melville and Moss
(2013), 11 percent of the world births occur prematurely, and these children have “immature immune systems,
with reduced innate and adaptive immunity.” Requisite medical interventions to help these babies develop a
competent immune system are highly essential for their survival. However, the scholars add that these
interventions decrease the development and function of the inborn immunity (Davidson, Kehaya & Jones,
2016). Therefore, there is a need to address this situation. Otherwise, the hospitals will continue to
experience higher admissions of immunocompromised children. The impacts of such a situation include
inadequate space for admission of critical cases and healthcare staff to attend to them and overspending on
medical bills.
References
Davison, G., Kehaya, C., & Wyn Jones, A. (2016). Nutritional and physical activity interventions to improve
immunity. American journal of lifestyle medicine, 10(3), 152-169.
Melville, J. M., & Moss, T. J. (2013). The immune consequences of pre-term birth. Frontiers in neuroscience, 7,
79.
200 WORDS EACH.
