Types of health research is explained.

1. Introduction to health
research
Dr. I. Kannan Ph.D
Associate Professor of Microbiology
Tagore Medical College and Hospital
INDIA

2. Types of health research -
Theoretical research and applied research

3. Types of health research -
Theoretical research and applied research
• The “theoretical research”
attempts to gather knowledge
about a phenomenon or idea
whose conclusions may not have
any immediate real-world
application.
• It is done, by developing new
theory or scrutinizing existing
theory.
• It is also called as fundamental
research or basic research.
• The “applied research” tackles a
“real world” question and
attempts to solve a problem.

4. Types of health research -
Theoretical research and applied research
• Theoreticalresearch
• It is an approach to research that
seeks to expand knowledge in a
field of study.
• It is subjective in its approach
• Applied research
• It creates practical solutions for
specific problems.
• It is objective method of inquiry

5. Types of health research -
Theoretical research and applied research
• Examples of theoretical research in health include:
1. An investigation into the secondary symptoms of the Human
Papilloma Virus (HPV).
2. An investigation into the symptoms of diarrhoea.
• Examples of applied research in health include:
1. An investigation to determine the antibacterial activity of neem.
2. An investigation to determine the effect of alcohol consumption to
liver.

6. Types of health research -
Preventive and therapeutic research

7. Types of health research -
Preventive and therapeutic research
• Preventive research
• Healthy or high-risk individuals
are tested to determine whether
a treatment prevents disease.
• Example: How effective is this
year's influenza vaccine in
preventing the flu?
• Therapeutic research
• treatments are tested for the
effectiveness in treating disease.
• Example: Does treatment with
Tamiflu shorten the duration and
improve survival in patients with
bird flu?
They are mostly interventional (Experimental) research studies

8. Types of health research -
Bench based research and bedside research

9. Types of health research -
Bench based research and bedside research
• Bench research is research that
is done in a laboratory.
• Example: Testing the effect of a
drug by cell culture technique.
• Bedside research is research that
is done on patients.
• Example: Testing the effect of a
drug on the patients.

10. Types of health research –
Exploratory research and confirmatory research

11. Types of health research –
Exploratory research and confirmatory research
• Exploratory research is the
process of investigating a
problem that has not been
studied or thoroughly
investigated in the past.
• It is usually conducted to have a
better understanding of the
existing problem, but usually
doesn't lead to a conclusive
result.
• A confirmatory trial is an
adequately controlled trial
where hypotheses are stated in
advance and evaluated
according to a protocol.

12. Types of health research –
Implementation research and translational
research

13. Types of health research –
Implementation research and translational
research
• Implementation research is an
integrated concept that links
research and practice to
accelerate the development and
delivery of public health
approaches.
• It involves the creation and
application of knowledge to
improve the implementation of
health policies, programmes,
and practices.
• Translational research referred
to the translation of basic
research findings to the clinical
level, commonly termed ‘bench
to bedside’. Then from “bedside
to community”.
• Patient-oriented research plays a
central role in this translation in
demonstrating whether basic
findings in cells or in animals
apply to humans.

14. Three levels of review to start health research
Scientific review
• novelty
• rationality
• justification
Ethics review
(Compulsory)
• human subjects
protection
Regulatory review
• foreign funding
• sample shipment
• intellectual property
• exchange of visitors

15. Cause and effect relationship
• Cause and effect refers to a relationship between two
phenomena in which one phenomenon is the reason
behind the other.
• Examples:
• Does presenceof a particular co-receptor [cause] on CD4
cells protect against HIV infection [effect]?
• Are breast cancers [effect] more common in breast
implant [cause] recipients?

16. Errors in research and how to avoid it?
• Random error representing
wrong result due to chance:
unknown sources of
variation that can distort
findings in either direction
• Can be minimized by
increasing sample size and
increasing precision
• Systematic error signifying
wrong result due to bias -
mostly due to variation that
would distort the results in
one direction
• Can be minimized by
improving study design

17. Confounders and effect modifiers
• A Confounder is an extraneous
variable whose presence affects
the variables being studied so
that the results do not reflect
the actual relationship between
the variables under study.
• There are various ways to
exclude or control confounding
variables including
Randomization, Restriction,
Matching and through stratified
analysis
• Effect modifiers: Can alter
[generally negatively] the
relationship between the study
variable and outcome by
independently affecting
outcome
• Good to be aware of them
through adequate literature
review and not to include them
in the study

18. Thank you