The Barriers for conducting epidemiological studies on chronic diseases

Epidemiological are studies concerned with the causes of the health occurrences, their patterns and consistency in the wellbeing of the population. This is usually done in a predetermined population under a specified environment. The purpose is to influence public policy decisions through the consideration of; disease spread, risk aspects and preventive measures to be taken. The study is done to improve public welfare (Dyckman, 2006).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Barriers for conducting epidemiological studies on chronic diseases specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More There are various factors that hinder the development of epidemiological studies in chronic diseases. The level of data protection tendencies in the highly developed countries is a major concern. An example is the UK where legislation is enacted by replacing the law on the confidentiality of the doctor to the patient with the data protection Act 19 98. Unfortunately, this is the idea of the government, while it is necessary for the government to protect citizens from intruders to information it is counterproductive to the well being of the society to enact such a law. This has highly affected the research activities by hindering the access to information (Dyckman, 2006). The next major factor is finances to carry out these studies. In most cases, these studies involve a lot of scientific research which can safely be done in laboratories and other technical facilities. However, these facilities require enormous capital to establish. To most countries, this is a major setback as they cannot afford this kind of facilities. For example, finances required in the development of genetic or atomic engineering laboratories used in studying cancerous growths like brain tumors. This will always undermine research activities in most countries (Hester 2012). The technical expertise required in these studies is sometimes a major factor. In some countries, like the third world countries, there are insufficient doctors to treat patients in hospitals let alone those that can carry out the research. Most of these countries rely on secondary information from previous research activities. Unfortunately for the health profession, some of these diseases are among the highly ranked killer diseases in the world like cancer (Michael, 2004). Next is the problem that involves insufficient man power in some countries. In most of the third world countries, there is insufficient skilled manpower to carry out these studies. This is because of insufficient remuneration to the skilled personnel leading to a brain drain.Advertising Looking for essay on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Where by skilled and talented individuals migrate to better paying countries like the western countries. This has resulted in a serious shortage of skilled personnel in these countrie s (Michael, 2004). The time is another major constraint in carrying out research. In most cases, research is carried out under a predetermined time frame but the time is rarely enough. The ethics of some of the doctors involved in the research is wanting to a point that the state has to interfere. This has highly affected research activities in some of the countries. For example in England, before the enactment of section 60 0f the Health and social care Act 2001. The professional bodies had to come in and put forward clear policies concerning ethical guidelines in conducting research. This had initially brought conflict between the government and professional bodies due to inconsistent policies advocated by the various professional bodies. The inconsistencies come about in the treatment of confidentiality, informed consent and anonymity of individuals involved in a research study (Michael, 2004). References Dyckman, T. (2006). Research for MBAs and Masters. New York: Penguin Publis hers. Hester, J. T. (2012). Academic medicine campaign, BMJ Group: (pp. 10-30). London: Night tankle. Michael E. P. (2004). Understanding research in the 20th Century. Chicago: The Free Press. This essay on The Barriers for conducting epidemiological studies on chronic diseases was written and submitted by user Ayleen B. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.