Epidemiologic Studies

Westat has extensive experience with observational and epidemiologic study designs and methods. These studies often are used to estimate the incidence, prevalence, and risk factors associated with various health outcomes. They also study the effectiveness and safety of therapeutic interventions in real life settings.

Westat has conducted more than 300 epidemiologic studies during the past 30 years for many pharmaceutical companies and government agencies. Study designs include

Natural history
Case-control
Cohort
Screening
Intervention
Comparative effectiveness

Research Methods

Epidemiologic research methods are being used increasingly for registry and post-approval studies in response to Food and Drug Administration guidelines and requirements for post-marketing surveillance.

Late-phase studies supplement the information obtained from clinical trials by providing

Safety and effectiveness information on broader groups of patients
Longer periods of time to study
More real life conditions than those typically seen in clinical trials

Information collected from epidemiologic studies often includes data on the following

Cancer and other medical conditions
Occupational and residential history
Dietary and personal habits (medication use, behavioral risk factors)
Social, cultural, and demographic background
Biomarkers, genetic assays, and other laboratory data

Services

Study subject selection
Questionnaire design
Subject tracking
Subject interviewing
Quality control monitoring
Data management
Data analysis and reporting

Experienced Staff

Westat’s experienced staff of epidemiologists and statisticians in the design and analysis of epidemiologic studies. Design considerations include constructing and using potentially complex sampling strategies to ensure the representativeness of the study population and the generalizability of the results.