Because epidemiological research often influences public policy, epidemiologists should be utilized to help avoid making inappropriate policy decisions based on study results. Which of the following should be considered in order to decrease the risk of acting too soon (spending resources to reduce a risk with no benefit to public health as a result) or too late (delaying action that could improve public health)?
a. The type of study (ability to control bias) and the outcome measured (prevalence versus cumulative incidence versus incidence density)
b. The size of the study ? particularly for negative results (no association detected)
c. The commonness of the disease and the Relative Risk
d. Reduction achieved by intervention
e. All the above are considerations