Introduction
The Cardiovascular Health Study focuses on the aged persons, who are about sixty five to a hundred years. The article states that, the number of persons above the age of eighty continues to increase at a fast rate. The persons above age eighty need constant medical attention because they face many risk factors that affect their health. In this article retention has been described as having retained persons used to conduct this study, through subsequent assessment. The information collected for the assessments, gets collected through longitudinal cohort study which uses observation. A longitudinal study uses repeated observations with same variables. The longitudinal cohort study takes decades to be complete. These longitudinal cohort study, show how certain circumstances and experiences affect participants later in their lives. The rate of retention in Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) cohort has sufficiently indicated the age and the type of visits the participants receive. However, the follow up established in totality about epidemiological cohorts indicate a higher number of about ninety percent.
Discussion
Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) cohort, studies indicate that the participants attended the clinics at a high rate of about seventy to eighty percent during the first five years. The rate of attendance continued to decrease as the participants became older. The low rate in attendance results from loss in follow ups. The low rate in attendance could be due to disability, that make them immobile and dementia .Ending stage diseases also, make the participants fail to attend clinics and hence loss in follow ups. This article however does not state the ending stage diseases that some older persons have that prevent them from attending clinics. The first paragraph says that, the aged above eighty years are in the increasing population. However some studies show that the middle aged group is the rapidly increasing population.
The methods used to collect this data are analytical in nature, and that is why this data is collected using visits. The research methods used in this study are applicable when collecting data from a population that is large. The methods used produce true findings because most are based on observation. The article states that it is important for the participants to attend in person clinics because the normal functions of the body are affected as they continue to age. Some of the risk that the aged participants face can be prevented if they visit clinics in person without sending proxy. Bone loss in the oldest ages is rampant and it is associated with conditions such as weight loss and even diabetes. The study for this article is focused on cardiovascular health and factors that lead to cardiovascular problems. According to the second paragraph, the participants identified for this study that had cognitive and physical impairment. This is to show that the selected participants were fit for the study. In the longitudinal cohort study for cardiovascular health bias was identified in the retention ability. The study showed that retention gets affected by changes in the physical function of the body. The body composition of the participants also showed to affect the retention ability in the study. The cognitive function of the body and the strength of the participants also affected the retention of the participants. Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) cohort shows bias in areas of lung function which greatly affects the aged and thus affecting their retention. The sickest participants with lung problems affecting the lung functions should be followed up to ensure they get retained so that these data can be used to efficiently interpret changes occurring physiologically in aged persons(Stotmeyer et al, 2010).
The third paragraph states the purpose of the research clearly. The study tries to link cardiovascular health study to older age and whether it is affects their ability to return to the clinic. The hypothesis that holds states that the type of visits that the older adults had were related to their location, the state of their health, the lifestyle they lived and the function characteristics of the bodies. The hypotheses also hold by saying that the older participants do not have a good retention to clinics and hence deteriorating their health. Hypotheses help to prove statements whether they are true or not. The cardiovascular health study has used the above hypotheses to test the data presented, thus ensuring accuracy and validity
The methods used to conduct this study include sampling, questionnaires and interviews. The age selected for this study is appropriate considering that by age of sixty five years majority of persons start to look aged. The study has provided characteristics of the age groups used to conduct the study. The age group selected has a likelihood of suffering from cardiovascular health issues. The age above sixty five is appropriate for this study. The study however, does not provide clear information based on sex and race of participants in the study. This is according to the report on study participants. To conduct Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) cohort, the participants were informed and were required to undergo extensive medical evaluations. This study was not conducted randomly and hence it stands chance of collecting accurate data. The participants were required to give their medical history in order to capture some of the illness that can accelerate cardiovascular health; and also to know the probability of participants having cardiovascular problems as they aged. The re-recruitment in 2005/06 of the older participants who had survived the cardiovascular health study of 1989/99, helped to analyze and provide clear information on cardiovascular health among the aged. This article on Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) cohort is relevant in the society because the older population seems to be neglected. The article is informative but it is not comprehensive. It does not give solutions to improve the health in general of the older generation (Levy & Brink, 2005).
The statistical methods of analyses used in the study are descriptive statistics of grouping the age groups. T –tests have been used to come up and prove the hypotheses stated. The statistical methods used have helped to come up with the discussion and conclusions of the study
It is important to note that the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) cohort was done by conducting various annual visits on year 1989 to year 1999. These visits included home visits, visiting clinics and visits through the telephone. Also, the visits were done in nursing homes or sending mails for participants to fill and re-mail them for the study. The visits are the most important part of Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) cohort, because this where data is collected. When visits are not done this can result to missing data and hence lead to unreliable research report. During clinics, the participants were assessed on physical activities, health, medical factors such as hospitalizations and medications. The participants also got their blood pressure checked and a number of tests done in the laboratory. Also, since most of the older adults are known to suffer from depression, a psychologist assessed them to see how well they were doing mentally. The Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) cohort provides an insight into health of all age groups. It also ensures that people take good care of their health while young to reduce health problems when they age.
The telephone visits involved filling a questionnaire about medication the participants were taking, their health status and how they were functioning in general. The telephone visits are limiting and cannot provide accurate data because apart from medication it is sometimes difficult to know how well the body is functioning. To make the study efficient the clinic visit was referred to as split visit, to include both the telephone visit and in person visit to clinic. The data collected in split visits can be reliable. The participants in Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) cohort chose the visit they wanted and thus determined the amount of data collected.
Questionnaires were used to collect the education of the participants and their weight and if they smoked at that time. The physical function of the participants was conducted by the ability of the participants to take care of themselves physically, for example eating and toileting.
The results of the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) cohort, study showed that as the participants aged they opted for telephone visits and home visits. The results also showed that those who went for clinic visits were younger and had more physical activities and that they were more likely to be male. The hypotheses that Male population is known to be active holds in this matter (Chaves et al, 2004).
Conclusion
The outcomes in these researches are valid because data collected targets a certain age group of persons. The inferences made for this study are accurate and well founded, because the presentation of data is well made and also the collection of the same data. The inferences made are done by people who are experts in their filled, for example the doctors and the nurses who take care of the persons. The studies do not clearly give solutions to problems presented in the study it just seeks to collect data and analyze it. The data in these researches has been well analyzed using tables and majority of persons can interpret the information presented. The literature review provides all the information needed to conduct this study. The reader has the confidence about this study because it is well researched and some of the issues highlighted in this study the reader can relate to them. The literature review is timely because it is targets the increasing number of aged persons who are not well taken care of by the society. However, more study should be conducted on other health issues facing the aged.
The levels of evidence are presented in form of various tables which are easy to interpret. This study has level one of evidence that is reliable. It also has level two of evidence that is derived from the observation of clinicians. Level three of evidence is available in this study and its drawn from the mail questionnaires. The levels of evidence used in the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) cohort, are high because it used repeat participants and hence no guess work was done. Also they encouraged home visits and visits to clinics.
The threats to validity in Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) cohort were telephone visits and mail questionnaire. The telephone visit was controlled by counterchecking information during home visits and clinic visits. However, the mail questionnaires were not addressed and these could lead to inaccurate data. This study is helpful in my medical study and I would implement it to better the care for my patients. In my medical practice I would ensure to carry out home visits for patients who are unable to attend clinics. I would also ensure to guide my patients about healthy living and ensure they have responsible adults taking care of them. Power analysis procedure was not used to select the participants but it was used in the findings of the study. The probability of conducting type 11 error was low because most data collected was physical and could be proven using medical information. This article is good for general knowledge and it encourages duty to care for people in the society.
References
Chaves, P. H., et al. (2004). Newman AB; Cardiovascular Health Study. Am J Geriatr Cardiol,
May-Jun, 13(3), 137-51.
Levy, D., & Brink, S. (2005). A change of heart: how the Framingham heart study helped
unravel the mysteries of cardiovascular disease. New York: Knopf.
Stotmeyer, E.S., et al. (2010). Long-term retention of older adults in the cardiovascular health
study: Implications for studies of the oldest old. The Journal American Geriatrics
Society, 58(4), 696-701.
