Question

Question 6.  Imagine that you are a social scientist interested in the health of older people living in managed care situations (e.g., nursing homes, retirement residences).  You are particularly interested in the effects of residents being “locked down” and confined to their residence during specific waves of the Covid-19 pandemic.  You have conducted a prospective cohort study to identify the mental health effects of prolonged lockdowns. This study was conducted in all Ontario public managed care settings. The study had excellent rates of participation (>90% at all stages), and the primary study findings are summarized in the table below.  They present the percentage of residents screening positive on a validated depression scale after being exposed to lockdowns of varying lengths of time.

Days in lockdown	Participants	% Depressed	Adjusted RR	(95% CI)
0	600	10	1.00
1-7	800	11	1.11	(0.84 to 1.32)
8-14	800	17	1.69	(1.53 to 1.83)
15 or more	400	32	3.16	(2.10 to 4.23)

1. In a brief paragraph, please summarize the main study findings presented in this table.

2. This study has been critically appraised by a jury of peer-reviewers, who judge it to have excellent internal validity.  Given this fact, do you think that this finding is generalizable to residents in the Province of British Columbia ?  Why or why not ? (suggested length, 1-2 short paragraphs)

3. Assuming that this study is both internally and externally valid, briefly describe the steps you would take to ensure that the relatonship between days in lockdown and depression is causal.  What are the top 3 criteria in making your assessment, and why ?  (suggested length, 1-2 long paragraphs).

Answer 1

According to the study

When there was no lockdown there were around 600 participants , 10 people were depressed, and the adjusted RR IS 1.00

when there was 7 days of lockdown there were around 800 participants for the study of off which 11 were depressed and adujusted RR 1.11 and 95% CI O.84 to 1.32.

when there was 8-14 days of lockdown there were around 800 participants out of which 17 were depressed and adjusted RR 1.69 and 1.53 to 1.83 was the CI

When there were 15 or more days of lockdown 400 participants were present out of which 32 were depressed and the adjusred RR was 3.16 and CI was 2.10.
this study really helped a lot of people.