Hello,
I am working on a thesis topic for my Master's in Occupational Health
and I have narrowed down the area to infectious diseases acquired in the
occupational setting. My target population will be healthcare
professionals (physicians, nurses, lab techs, and dentists). I am
interested in doing an epidemiological study on the characteristics of
health care professionals that may be a factor in them not developing a
high enough titre following Hep B Vaccination. I would like to compare
these characteristics in health providers that develop the antibodies
AND in health care providers that do not develop them. Also, I would
like to compare the characteristics of health care providers vs a
control group and see if there is a difference in efficacy of the
Vaccine as well as determine if there are any characteristics that may
be specific to health care providers that may be a factor in them not
developing the antibodies to HBsAg.
The characteristics that I would look at include things like: years
working in the field, medical problems, sex, age, years in field before
having vaccination, type of work one does, hours worked per day,
environmental factors, etc
My questions would be,
1. Is this considered to be a case control study or a combination case
control and correlational study?
2. Does anyone know of any studies out there that have been done in this
area?
3. Are there any other factors in the health care environment that may
be a factor in providers not developing antibodies?
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance
Donna L. Alden
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Donna L. Alden, BScNurs(Distinction), BSc, DipEH,
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Email: [log in to unmask]
The Public Health Inspector/Environmental Health Officer Home Page
http://internet.ocii.com/~dalden/Index.html
ICQ # 8359458
Contact Me Online Via http://wwp.mirabilis.com/8359458
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