-Is the target population narrow or broad?
-Is the target population vulnerable?
-What are the eligibility criteria?
-What is the most appropriate recruitment strategy?
Occasionally, the intended population of the study needs to be modified, in order to overcome any potential ethical issues, and/or for the sake of convenience and feasibility of the project. Yet, the researcher must be aware that the external validity of the results may be compromised. As an illustration, in a randomised clinical trial, authors compared the ease of tracheal tube insertion between C-MAC video laryngoscope and direct laryngoscopy, in patients presenting to the emergency department with an indication of rapid sequence intubation. However, owing to the existence of ethical concerns, a substantial amount of patients requiring emergency tracheal intubation, including patients with major maxillofacial trauma and ongoing cardiopulmonary resuscitation, had to be excluded from the trial.[ 14 ] In fact, the design of prospective studies to explore this subset of patients can be challenging, not only because of ethical considerations, but because of the low incidence of these cases. In another study, Metterlein et al . compared the glottis visualisation among five different supraglottic airway devices, using fibreroptic-guided tracheal intubation in an adult population. Despite that the study was aimed to explore the ease of intubation in patients with anticipated difficult airway (thus requiring fibreoptic tracheal intubation), authors decided to enrol patients undergoing elective laser treatment for genital condylomas, as a strategy to hasten the recruitment process and optimise resources.[ 15 ]
Anaesthetic interventions can be classified into pharmacological (experimental treatment) and nonpharmacological. Among nonpharmacological interventions, the most common include anaesthetic techniques, monitoring instruments and airway devices. For example, it would be appropriate to examine the ease of insertion of Supreme™ LMA, when compared with ProSeal™ LMA. Notwithstanding, a common mistake is the tendency to be focused on the data aimed to be collected (the “stated” objective), rather than the question that needs to be answered (the “latent” objective).[ 1 , 4 ] In one clinical trial, authors stated: “we compared the Supreme™ and ProSeal™ LMAs in infants by measuring their performance characteristics, including insertion features, ventilation parameters, induced changes in haemodynamics, and rates of postoperative complications”.[ 10 ] Here, the research question has been centered on the measurements (insertion characteristics, haemodynamic variables, LMA insertion characteristics, ventilation parameters) rather than the clinical problem that needs to be addressed (is Supreme™ LMA easier to insert than ProSeal™ LMA?).
Comparators in clinical research can also be pharmacological (e.g., gold standard or placebo) or nonpharmacological. Typically, not more than two comparator groups are included in a clinical trial. Multiple comparisons should be generally avoided, unless there is enough statistical power to address the end points of interest, and statistical analyses have been adjusted for multiple testing. For instance, in the aforementioned study of Metterlein et al .,[ 15 ] authors compared five supraglottic airway devices by recruiting only 10--12 participants per group. In spite of the authors' recommendation of using two supraglottic devices based on the results of the study, there was no mention of statistical adjustments for multiple comparisons, and given the small sample size, larger clinical trials will undoubtedly be needed to confirm or refute these findings.[ 15 ]
A clear formulation of the primary outcome results of vital importance in clinical research, as the primary statistical analyses, including the sample size calculation (and therefore, the estimation of the effect size and statistical power), will be derived from the main outcome of interest. While it is clear that using more than one primary outcome would not be appropriate, it would be equally inadequate to include multiple point measurements of the same variable as the primary outcome (e.g., visual analogue scale for pain at 1, 2, 6, and 12 h postoperatively).
Composite outcomes, in which multiple primary endpoints are combined, may make it difficult to draw any conclusions based on the study findings. For example, in a clinical trial, 200 children undergoing ophthalmic surgery were recruited to explore the incidence of respiratory adverse events, when comparing desflurane with sevoflurane, following the removal of flexible LMA during the emergence of the anaesthesia. The primary outcome was the number of respiratory events, including breath holding, coughing, secretions requiring suction, laryngospasm, bronchospasm, and mild desaturation.[ 16 ] Should authors had claimed a significant difference between these anaesthetic volatiles, it would have been important to elucidate whether those differences were due to serious adverse events, like laryngospasm or bronchospasm, or the results were explained by any of the other events (e.g., secretions requiring suction). While it is true that clinical trials evaluating the occurrence of adverse events like laryngospasm/bronchospasm,[ 16 , 17 ] or life-threating complications following a tracheal intubation (e.g., inadvertent oesophageal placement, dental damage or injury of the larynx/pharynx)[ 14 ] are almost invariably underpowered, because the incidence of such events is expected to be low, subjective outcomes like coughing or secretions requiring suction should be avoided, as they are highly dependent on the examiner's criteria.[ 16 ]
Secondary outcomes are useful to document potential side effects (e.g., gastric insufflation after placing a supraglottic device), and evaluate the adherence (say, airway leak pressure) and safety of the intervention (for instance, occurrence, or laryngospasm/bronchospasm).[ 17 ] Nevertheless, the problem of addressing multiple secondary outcomes without the adequate statistical power is habitual in medical literature. A good illustration of this issue can be found in a study evaluating the performance of two supraglottic devices in 50 anaesthetised infants and neonates, whereby authors could not draw any conclusions in regard to potential differences in the occurrence of complications, because the sample size calculated made the study underpowered to explore those differences.[ 17 ]
Among PICOT components, the time frame is the most likely to be omitted or inappropriate.[ 1 , 12 ] There are two key aspects of the time component that need to be clearly specified in the research question: the time of measuring the outcome variables (e.g. visual analogue scale for pain at 1, 2, 6, and 12 h postoperatively), and the duration of each measurement (when indicated). The omission of these details in the study protocol might lead to substantial differences in the methodology used. For instance, if a study is designed to compare the insertion times of three different supraglottic devices, and researchers do not specify the exact moment of LMA insertion in the clinical trial protocol (i.e., at the anaesthetic induction after reaching a BIS index < 60), placing an LMA with insufficient depth of anaesthesia would have compromised the internal validity of the results, because inserting a supraglottic device in those patients would have resulted in failed attempts and longer insertion times.[ 10 ]
A well-elaborated research question may not necessarily be a good question. The proposed study also requires being achievable from both ethical and realistic perspectives, interesting and useful to the clinical practice, and capable to formulate new hypotheses, that may contribute to the generation of knowledge. Researchers have developed an effective way to convey the message of how to build a good research question, that is usually recalled under the acronym of FINER (feasible, interesting, novel, ethical and relevant).[ 5 , 6 , 7 ] Table 2 highlights the main characteristics of FINER criteria.[ 7 ]
Main features of FINER criteria (Feasibility, interest, novelty, ethics, and relevance) to formulate a good research question. Adapted from Cummings et al .[ 7 ]
Component | Criteria |
---|---|
Feasible | -Ensures adequacy of research design -Guarantees adequate funding -Recruits target population strategically -Aims an achievable sample size -Prioritises measurable outcomes -Optimises human and technical resources -Accounts for clinicians commitment -Procures high adherence to the treatment and low rate of dropouts -Opts for appropriate and affordable frame time |
Interesting | -Engages the interest of principal investigators -Attracts the attention of readers -Presents a different perspective of the problem |
Novel | -Provides different findings -Generates new hypotheses -Improves methodological flaws of existing studies -Resolves a gap in the existing literature |
Ethical | -Complies with local ethical committees -Safeguards the main principles of ethical research -Guarantees safety and reversibility of side effects |
Relevant | -Generates new knowledge -Contributes to improve clinical practice -Stimulates further research -Provides an accurate answer to a specific research question |
Although it is clear that any research project should commence with an accurate literature interpretation, in many instances it represents the start and the end of the research: the reader will soon realise that the answer to several questions can be easily found in the published literature.[ 5 ] When the question overcomes the test of a thorough literature review, the project may become novel (there is a gap in the knowledge, and therefore, there is a need for new evidence on the topic) and relevant (the paper may contribute to change the clinical practice). In this context, it is important to distinguish the difference between statistical significance and clinical relevance: in the aforementioned study of Oba et al .,[ 10 ] despite the means of insertion times were reported as significant for the Supreme™ LMA, as compared with ProSeal™ LMA, the difference found in the insertion times (528 vs. 486 sec, respectively), although reported as significant, had little or no clinical relevance.[ 10 ] Conversely, a statistically significant difference of 12 sec might be of clinical relevance in neonates weighing <5 kg.[ 17 ] Thus, statistical tests must be interpreted in the context of a clinically meaningful effect size, which should be previously defined by the researcher.
Among FINER criteria, there are two potential barriers that may prevent the successful conduct of the project and publication of the manuscript: feasibility and ethical aspects. These obstacles are usually related to the target population, as discussed above. Feasibility refers not only to the budget but also to the complexity of the design, recruitment strategy, blinding, adequacy of the sample size, measurement of the outcome, time of follow-up of participants, and commitment of clinicians, among others.[ 3 , 7 ] Funding, as a component of feasibility, may also be implicated in the ethical principles of clinical research, because the choice of the primary study question may be markedly influenced by the specific criteria demanded in the interest of potential funders.
Discussing ethical issues with local committees is compulsory, as rules applied might vary among countries.[ 18 ] Potential risks and benefits need to be carefully weighed, based upon the four principles of respect for autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice.[ 19 ] Although many of these issues may be related to the population target (e.g., conducting a clinical trial in patients with ongoing cardiopulmonary resuscitation would be inappropriate, as would be anaesthetising patients undergoing elective LASER treatment for condylomas, to examine the performance of supraglottic airway devices),[ 14 , 15 ] ethical conflicts may also arise from the intervention (particularly those involving the occurrence of side effects or complications, and their potential for reversibility), comparison (e.g., use of placebo or sham procedures),[ 19 ] outcome (surrogate outcomes should be considered in lieu of long term outcomes), or time frame (e.g., unnecessary longer exposition to an intervention). Thus, FINER criteria should not be conceived without a concomitant examination of the PICOT checklist, and consequently, PICOT framework and FINER criteria should not be seen as separated components, but rather complementary ingredients of a good research question.
Undoubtedly, no research project can be conducted if it is deemed unfeasible, and most institutional review boards would not be in a position to approve a work with major ethical problems. Nonetheless, whether or not the findings are interesting, is a subjective matter. Engaging the attention of readers also depends upon a number of factors, including the manner of presenting the problem, the background of the topic, the intended audience, and the reader's expectations. Furthermore, the interest is usually linked to the novelty and relevance of the topic, and it is worth nothing that editors and peer reviewers of high-impact medical journals are usually reluctant to accept any publication, if there is no novelty inherent to the research hypothesis, or there is a lack of relevance in the results.[ 11 ] Nevertheless, a considerable number of papers have been published without any novelty or relevance in the topic addressed. This is probably reflected in a recent survey, according to which only a third of respondents declared to have read thoroughly the most recent papers downloaded, and at least half of those manuscripts remained unread.[ 20 ] The same study reported that up to one-third of papers examined remained uncited after 5 years of publication, and only 20% of papers accounted for 80% of the citations.[ 20 ]
Formulating a good research question can be fascinating, albeit challenging, even for experienced investigators. While it is clear that clinical experience in combination with the accurate interpretation of literature and teamwork are essential to develop new ideas, the formulation of a clinical problem usually requires the compliance with PICOT framework in conjunction with FINER criteria, in order to translate a clinical dilemma into a researchable question. Working in the right environment with the adequate support of experienced researchers, will certainly make a difference in the generation of knowledge. By doing this, a lot of time will be saved in the search of the primary study question, and undoubtedly, there will be more chances to become a successful researcher.
Conflicts of interest.
There are no conflicts of interest.
In the world of academia and healthcare, finding the right health-related research topics is essential. Whether you are a medical student, a college student, or a seasoned researcher, the choice of your research topic greatly impacts the quality and relevance of your work. This blog, health related research topics, is your guide to selecting the perfect subject for your research.
In this post, we will share 5 invaluable tips to help you pick suitable health-related research topics. Additionally, we will outline the crucial elements that every health-related research paper should incorporate.
Furthermore, we’ve compiled a comprehensive list of 300+ health-related research topics for medical students in 2023. These include categories like mental health, public health, nutrition, chronic diseases, healthcare policy, and more. We also offer guidance on selecting the right topic to ensure your research is engaging and meaningful.
So, whether you are delving into mental health, investigating environmental factors, or exploring global health concerns, health-related research topics will assist you in making informed and impactful choices for your research journey, even within the hardest medical specialties .
Table of Contents
Health research is like detective work to understand how our bodies work and how to keep them healthy. It’s like asking questions and finding answers about things like sickness, medicine, and how to live better. Scientists and doctors do health research to learn new ways to treat illnesses, like finding better medicines or discovering new ways to prevent diseases.
Health research is a puzzle, where scientists collect information, do experiments, and study many people to find out what makes us healthy or sick. They want to find clues and put them together to help us stay well and live longer. So, health research is like a quest to learn more about our bodies and find ways to make them work their best, keeping us happy and strong.
Here are some useful tips for choosing health related research topics:
When picking a health research topic, it’s a good idea to choose something you’re curious and excited about. If you’re interested in a subject, you’ll enjoy learning more about it, and you’ll be motivated to do your best. So, think about what aspects of health catch your attention and explore those areas for your research.
Your research topic should be meaningful and have real-world importance. Think about how your research can contribute to solving health problems or improving people’s well-being. Topics that are relevant and can make a positive impact on health and healthcare are usually more valuable.
Before deciding on a research topic, make sure you have access to the necessary resources, like books, articles, or equipment. It’s important that you can find the information and tools you need to conduct your research effectively.
Select a research topic that you can handle within the available time and resources. It’s better to choose a more focused and manageable topic rather than something too broad or complex. This way, you can delve deep into the subject and produce meaningful results.
Don’t hesitate to ask for guidance from teachers, professors, or experts in the field. They can help you refine your research topic, provide valuable insights, and suggest improvements. Seeking advice can make your research journey smoother and more successful.
Here are some important elements that must be present in a health related research paper:
A good health research paper needs a clear title that tells people what it’s about. The introduction should explain why the research is important and what the paper will discuss. It’s like the map that shows the way.
You should describe how you did your research and the data you collected. This helps others understand how you found your information. It’s like showing your work in math so that others can check it.
After doing your research, you need to show what you discovered. Share the results and what they mean. Conclusions tell people what you found out and why it’s important. It’s like the “So what?” part of your paper.
When you use other people’s ideas or words, you need to give them credit. Citations and references show where you got your information. It’s like saying, “I learned this from here.”
Make sure your paper is easy to read and well-organized. Use clear and simple language so that everyone can understand. Organize your paper logically, with a beginning, middle, and end, like a good story. This makes your research paper more effective and useful.
In this section, we will discuss 300+ health related research topics for medical students(2023):
When selecting a health-related research topic, there are several important considerations to keep in mind to ensure your research is meaningful and effective. Here are 7 key points to remember:
In the ever-evolving landscape of health research, selecting the right topic is the foundation for meaningful contributions. This blog has provided a roadmap for choosing health-related research topics, emphasizing the importance of personal interest, relevance, available resources, manageability, and expert guidance. Additionally, it has offered 300+ research topics across various domains, including mental health, public health, nutrition, chronic diseases, healthcare policy, and more.
In addition, with these insights, researchers, students, and healthcare professionals can embark on journeys that not only align with their passions but also address critical healthcare challenges. By making informed choices, we can collectively advance the frontiers of health and well-being.
An official website of the United States government
Here’s how you know
Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock ( A locked padlock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.
Subscribe to Fogarty's Global Health Matters newsletter , and weekly funding news for global health researchers .
The Fogarty International Center and its NIH partners invest in research on a variety of topics vital to global health. For each of these global health research topics, find an in-depth collection of news, resources and funding from Fogarty, the NIH, other U.S. government agencies, nongovernmental organizations and others.
Updated January 3, 2024
3 steps to designing effective research questions and study methods.
Every day, scientists conduct important research that brings real value to the medical field. And the most impactful efforts typically begin with a clear question that will add a new perspective to the current knowledge that exists, as well as a well-designed study format, explains Jamie Robertson, PhD, MPH, director of Innovation in Surgical Education at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, associate director of Harvard Medical School’s Global Clinical Scholars Research Training program and co-director for the Foundations of Clinical Research program.
For instance, perhaps you notice that your patients who go running regularly have lower blood pressure than their counterparts. But, is running directly related to reduced hypertension rates, or could these patients also be making other lifestyle choices that are impacting the equation? Fully understanding the relationship can be valuable to help you provide good advice to your other patients to help them control or prevent hypertension. Yet in order to find out the connection, you’ll need to come up with a solid research question and conduct a study that will help you to understand whether running is related to blood pressure.
To develop a meaningful research question, it’s important to narrow your interest to a very specific area.
“Often people get excited and want to study a big topic,” Robertson says. This could be something like the factors related to hypertension among adults of all ages. “But you can actually do your best work when you have a concise and focused question,” she points out. Narrow in on a specific subset of the population and make sure that what you want to answer is complex and not too obvious. An example might be looking at the impact that running three times a week has on the blood pressure levels of middle-age patients with no other confounding health factors.
She points out that when you develop such a question, it’s important that you make sure that the data you seek to collect will be adding a new perspective, rather than just repeating information that already exists.
“Think about why a medical student or resident should care about your research. It should not be something that they can already find in the medical literature or that they can answer just using common sense,” she adds.
Once you have an idea of what you want to tackle in your research, Robertson suggests using a method called PICO to flesh out the research question and all the nuances involved and determine how best to go about answering it.
Each letter of PICO stands for a different topic area, she says.
Using this method to define all of the elements can be essential in helping you focus your efforts and determine how to tackle the research study most effectively.
The next step is selecting the study format you want to use to gather your data. “People often ask me what the best study design is to use for their work. But there is no one right answer,” Robertson says. “We tend to think randomized clinical trials have the highest level of evidence. But that is not the right study design in all cases, and it may not even be ethical, or feasible, or cost effective, in some situations,” she stresses. Therefore, you’ll want to explore different options to see what fits best for your circumstances.
Here are some common study designs that you might want to consider, along with ideas of how each one might work to answer the question about running and hypertension:
Robertson points out that when you consider all of these aspects to help you design and implement research studies to answer well thought out and informative questions, you can help to advance your research career in exciting directions, while also adding a significant body of knowledge to the field that may lead to improved outcomes.
Written by Lisa D. Ellis
Clinicians today need strong critical thinking skills in order to properly diagnose and treat…
© 2024 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College
Our topic pages offer a one-stop-shop for insights, experts, and offerings by areas of interest.
Journal logo.
Colleague's E-mail is Invalid
Your message has been successfully sent to your colleague.
Save my selection
Dine, C. Jessica MD, MSHP; Shea, Judy A. PhD; Kogan, Jennifer R. MD
associate program director, Internal Medicine Residency Program
associate dean, Medical Education Research, and
assistant dean, Faculty Development, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
Theory and practice in the design and conduct of graduate medical education, generating research questions appropriate for qualitative studies in health..., philosophy of science series: harnessing the multidisciplinary edge effect by..., critical theory: broadening our thinking to explore the structural factors at..., am last page: avoiding five common pitfalls of survey design.
In order to most appropriately choose an information resource and craft a search strategy, it is necessary to consider what kind of question you are asking: a specific, narrow "foreground" question, or a broader background question that will help give context to your research?
A "foreground" question in health research is one that is relatively specific, and is usually best addressed by locating primary research evidence.
Using a structured question framework can help you clearly define the concepts or variables that make up the specific research question.
Across most frameworks, you’ll often be considering:
PICO is the most common framework for developing a clinical research question, but multiple question frameworks exist.
Appropriate for : clinical questions, often addressing the effect of an intervention/therapy/treatment
Example : For adolescents with type II diabetes (P) does the use of telehealth consultations (I) compared to in-person consultations (C) improve blood sugar control (O)?
Element | Description | Example |
---|---|---|
opulation / problem | Who is the group of people being studied? | adolescents with T2D |
ntervention | What is the intervention being investigated? (independent variable) | telehealth consultations |
omparison | To what is the intervention being compared? | in person consultations |
utcome | What are the desired outcomes of the intervention? (dependent variable) | blood sugar control |
Different types of clinical questions are suited to different syntaxes and phrasings, but all will clearly define the PICO elements. The definitions and frames below may be helpful for organizing your question:
Intervention/Therapy
Questions addressing how a clinical issue, illness, or disability is treated.
"In__________________(P), how does__________________(I) compared to_________________(C) affect______________(O)?"
Questions that address the causes or origin of disease, the factors which produce or predispose toward a certain disease or disorder.
"Are_________________(P), who have_________________(I) compared with those without_________________(C) at_________________risk for/of_________________(O) over_________________(T)?"
Questions addressing the act or process of identifying or determining the nature and cause of a disease or injury through evaluation.
In_________________(P) are/is_________________(I) compared with_________________(C) more accurate in diagnosing_________________(O)?
Prognosis/Prediction:
Questions addressing the prediction of the course of a disease.
In_________________(P), how does_________________(I) compared to_________________ (C) influence_________________(O)?
Questions addressing how one experiences a phenomenon or why we need to approach practice differently.
"How do_________________(P) with_________________(I) perceive_________________(O)?"
Adapted from: Melnyk, B. M., & Fineout-Overholt, E. (2011). Evidence-based practice in nursing & healthcare: A guide to best practice. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
PICO is a useful framework for clinical research questions, but may not be appropriate for all kinds of reviews. Also consider:
Appropriate for : describing association between particular exposures/risk factors and outcomes
Example : How do preparation programs (E) influence the development of teaching competence (O) among novice nurse educators (P)?
Element | Description | Example |
---|---|---|
opulation | Who is the group of people being studied? | novice nurse educators |
xposure | What is the population being exposed to (independent variable)? | preparation programs |
utcome | What is the outcome that may be affected by the exposure (dependent variable)? | teaching competence |
Appropriate for : questions of experience or perspectives (questions that may be addressed by qualitative or mixed methods research)
Example : What are the experiences and perspectives (E) of undergraduate nursing students (S) in clinical placements within prison healthcare settings (PI)?
Element | Description | Example |
---|---|---|
ample | Who is the group of people being studied? | undergraduate nursing students |
henomenon of nterest | What are the reasons for behavior and decisions? | clinical placements in prison healthcare settings |
esign | How has the research been collected (e.g., interview, survey)? | interview and surveys |
valuation | What is the outcome being impacted? | attitudes, experiences and reflections on learning |
esearch type | What type of research? | qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods |
Appropriate for : evaluating the outcomes of a service, project, or intervention
Example : What are the impacts and best practices for workplace (S) transition support programs (I) for the retention (E) of newly-hired, new graduate nurses (P)?
Element | Description | Example |
---|---|---|
etting | What is the context for the question? (Where?) | nursing workplaces (healthcare settings) |
erspective | For whom is this intervention/program/service designed (users, potential users, stakeholders)? | new graduate nurses |
ntervention/Interest/Exposure | What action is taken for the users, potential users, or stakeholders? | long term transition support programs (residency/mentorship) |
omparison | What are the alternative interventions? | no or limited transition support / orientation |
valuation | What is the results of the intervention or service/how is success measured? | retention of newly hired nurses |
Appropriate for : broader (scoping) questions
Example : How do nursing schools (Context) teach, measure, and maintain nursing students ' (P) technological literacy (Concept))throughout their educational programs?
Element | Description | Example |
---|---|---|
What are the important characteristics of the participants, or the problem of focus? | nursing students | |
oncept | What is the core concept being examined by the review? | technological literacy |
ontext | What is the context for the question? (Could include geographic location, or details about the setting of interest)? | nursing schools |
To craft a strong and reasonable foreground research question, it is important to have a firm understanding of the concepts of interest. As such, it is often necessary to ask background questions, which ask for more general, foundational knowledge about a disorder, disease, patient population, policy issue, etc.
For example, consider the PICO question outlined above:
"For adolescents with type II diabetes does the use of telehealth consultations compared to in-person consultations improve blood sugar control ?
To best make sense of the literature that might address this PICO question, you would also need a deep understanding of background questions like:
Table of contents
Use our free Readability checker
Every healthcare research begins with a single step. But in the world of academia, that step often involves hours of pondering over the perfect medical research topic idea. When it comes to medical research paper topics, there's a seemingly limitless array of options that stretches as far as the mind can wander. The potential of this field is exciting but can also be challenging to explore.
To help you narrow down your choices and research effectively, our research paper writer team compiled a list of interesting medical research topics. Whether you want to write about the latest developments in public health or explore the implications of emerging technologies, this blog won't disappoint you.
Medical research topics are the ideas or concepts related to health and medicine. They often explore new treatments, developments in diagnosis, prevention of illnesses, or even the effects of lifestyle choices. The scope of topics in medicine is vast and can include such aspects:
Your choice should stem from your interests and existing gaps that need to be filled.
Choosing the right medical topic for a research paper is like finding a golden ticket to a successful study. Here's what makes a medicine research idea a real showstopper:
Selecting the best idea out of multiple medicine research topics can be a daunting task, especially when you have so many fields to explore. Here are a few steps that will help you settle on a theme:
Once you come up with a fitting medical research topic, consider half the battle won. But in case you have difficulties creating an original title, our online paper writers prepared a list of research ideas for medical students you might like.
Below we collected various medical topics to research in your study. From groundbreaking technologies to emerging diseases, there are countless avenues to investigate. If you're on the hunt for a compelling topic, here are some of the top medical researches topics capturing attention in 2023:
Navigating countless medical topics for research papers can often feel like a journey through a labyrinth. Here are some intriguing ideas that could ignite your curiosity and fuel your research:
Exploring the depths of medicine can be an exciting experience. You'll discover that every issue has a plethora of complexities and avenues to investigate. Here are some interesting medical topics for research paper that could pique your curiosity:
You may be looking for simple research topics in medicine that won't take too much time and effort to complete. Explore these straightforward ideas that could make your paper stand out:
When it comes to choosing medical research topics, you need something that's striking and meaningful. Hover over these ideas to spot the fitting idea for your medical research:
Navigate through the most contentious research topics in health and explore the debate that surrounds them. Consider these thought-provoking ideas and medical controversial topics:
Discover the latest studies in healthcare and explore the newest topics for a medical research paper. Below we prepared some cutting-edge topics for you to consider:
There are multiple medical topics to write about. But as a student, you're probably looking for something more specific. For your convenience, we divided the titles by academic levels. So, roll up your sleeves and get ready to explore these health topics for research that your professor will surely appreciate.
For students who want to investigate different aspect of healthcare, we provided these examples of ideas. Browse through these medical research topics for high school students to spot the most relevant theme:
At the college level, you may be asked to write a research paper on a complex issue. We prepared these health research topics for college students to help you get started on your assignment:
We've also provided some research topics for medical students grouped by specific subjects. Check them out and pick the one you find most captivating.
Pediatrics involves the care and health of children. As such, it is a broad field ripe with interesting medical topics. Given the unique physiology needs of these younger populations, pediatric research is crucial for understanding illnesses. Below you can find captivating research topics in pediatrics:
Anatomy is the study of the organization and structure of the body. It encompasses many topics for medical research papers, from bones and organs to cell structures. Consider these ideas when writing your next anatomy paper:
Medical anthropology looks at health and illness from a cultural perspective. It draws on expertise from across disciplines such as biology, psychology, and sociology to better understand how medical systems can work within different communities. If you’re interested in this field, use these ideas for med research topics:
Physiology studies how living organisms function. This branch covers a range of medicine topics and ideas you might like. Here are some suggestions for your next med paper in physiology:
From understanding skin conditions to exploring new procedures, dermatological research is a crucial part of improving skin health. Look through these medical research ideas centered around dermatology:
Nursing is a versatile profession that covers many areas of health care. It’s also an ever-changing field, with new research and advancements being released all the time. Here are some topics for medical research paper focusing on nursing:
>> Read more: Nursing Research Paper Topics
Primary care is the first point of contact between patients and medical professionals. This branch is often overlooked, but it’s an important area of research that can improve health outcomes in communities around the world. Check out these interesting health topics to discuss in primary care:
Public health is an important area of research - understanding how to improve health in communities and prevent illness and injury are crucial skills for medical professionals. Here are some medical related research topics that could kick-start your next project:
>> View more: Public Health Research Topics
Mental health is an important area of research, as it affects so many people around the world. Here are some medical research paper ideas to get you started on your next mental health project:
>> View more: Mental Health Research Paper Topics
Medical ethics is an important direction in healthcare research. Check these fascinating health topics to research for your next paper:
Medical research is an important topic for many people. Below you can find more medical research topic ideas that didn't fall in any of categories offered above.
Health research paper topics are crucial to understanding the effects of trends and developments in the medical field. Here are some ideas to get you inspired:
Clinical ideas are essential for approaching healthcare from a scientific point of view. Find some medical research paper topics to cover in your project:
Choosing healthcare research paper topics can be quite overwhelming. We hope our suggestions will help you in developing an engaging medical research topic for your upcoming project or assignment. Remember to always check with your instructor before starting any project, so that you are aware of all specific requirements.
Why not pay for research paper crafted by professionals? With our team of skilled writers, you will get a quality, plagiarism-free research paper delivered on time. Invest in your academic success today!
Joe Eckel is an expert on Dissertations writing. He makes sure that each student gets precious insights on composing A-grade academic writing.
Ideas for Your Next Health Psychology Paper or Project
Heath psychology topics can look at a range of issues related to health, illness, and healthcare. It may include such things as eating disorders, weight management, diet, exercise, stress coping, women's health, and more.
Health psychology, also known as medical psychology or behavioral medicine, focuses on how biology, psychology, behavior, and social factors influence health and well-being. It's a diverse and rich field worth exploring if you're studying to be a health professional.
Health psychology is a field focused on promoting wellness and understanding how physical health and illness impact mental well-being. Health psychology topics you might want to explore include stress management, behavior change, weight management, nutrition, eating disorders, exercise, illness prevention, managing chronic conditions, and much more.
The next time you're looking for a research topic for your studies and would like to focus on health psychology , consider the following suggestions. These can inspire an experiment , a research paper, or any other type of class project.
Health behaviors, including exercise and diet, are a major topic within the field of health psychology. Some areas you might opt to explore include:
Explore some of the psychological strategies that can help people stick to a diet and exercise program. Is there any singular strategy that is more effective than others?
Analyze how media depictions of "ideal" bodies influence anorexia and bulimia. Is there a link between exposure to these images and eating disorders?
Look at how exposure to social media affects body image. Do young people who spend more time on social media have worse body image than those who use these apps and websites less frequently? What type of content has the most significant impact on body image?
Factors that influence family health and safety are another health psychology topic you might consider. Examples include:
Explore how increased public awareness of infant safety, such as placing an infant on their back to sleep, or removing pillows and other objects from the sleeping area, have influenced the occurrence of SIDS, or "crib death." Has the number of SIDS-related deaths gone down? Why do some parents ignore these sleep safety guidelines?
Assess current approaches to childhood immunizations. Why do some parents choose not to immunize their children? How does this impact public health? What can health professionals do to increase the likelihood that kids are immunized?
Explore the factors that contribute to teen suicide . How effective are suicide prevention programs? Which strategies are the most effective?
Look at the emotional, social, and psychological impact of caregiving, such as taking care of an aging parent, a family member with AIDS, or a spouse diagnosed with Alzheimer's.
Individual health is important, but health psychology are also interested in learning more about things that can have an effect on overall public health. Some examples include:>
What can mental health and medical professionals do to help people cope in the immediate aftermath of a disaster? Are there any strategies that result in better long-term outcomes?
Research the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among veterans. What factors contribute to whether an individual veteran experiences PTSD? Which mental health interventions are most effective in treating this disorder?
Evaluate how stress management techniques and relaxation methods can help patients experiencing chronic pain. How effective are these tactics? How do they compare to traditional pharmacological approaches to pain management?
Compare and contrast different approaches to quitting smoking. Which strategies are the most effective?
Look at different techniques that can be used to increase the likelihood that people will use safety equipment such as seat belts and bicycle helmets. What type of public safety program would you devise to encourage the use of these products?
A few areas you might want to explore in your research include exercise, eating behaviors, family health, safety, and public health. Such areas provide a wealth of health psychology topics to choose from.
The above are just a few specific topics and questions you might want to explore, but there are also many other areas you might consider. Some broad health psychology topics that might also inspire your research include:
Before you begin, make sure the topic you're interested in matches the specific assignment. Even if your instructor doesn't require you to get approval for your intended topic, it's always a good idea to run it by them before you delve too deeply into your research.
Of course, make sure you've chosen a subject that you know you'll be able to find appropriate sources for. You wouldn't want to commit to a project only to find insufficient existing information to work with. Again, input from your instructor can prevent you from wasting time on a topic that offers little to go on.
Health psychology focuses on understanding how social, environmental, biological, psychological, and cultural factors influence health and illness. If you are looking for a great topic to explore, consider picking a broad area of interest (like stress, exercise, safety, illness, etc.), and then narrowing down your focus to more specific questions of interest.
Ian Lubek, Monica Ghabrial, Naomi Ennis, et al. Notes on the development of health psychology and behavioral medicine in the United States. J Health Psychol. 2018;23(3):492-505. doi:10.1177/1359105318755156
Sanderson CA. Health Psychology: Understanding the Mind-Body Connection . SAGE Publications.
Naumann E, Tuschen-Caffier B, Voderholzer U, Schäfer J, Svaldi J. Effects of emotional acceptance and rumination on media-induced body dissatisfaction in anorexia and bulimia nervosa . J Psychiatr Res . 2016;82:119-125. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2016.07.021
McNeil DA, Mueller M, MacDonald S, et al. Maternal perceptions of childhood vaccination: Explanations of reasons for and against vaccination. BMC Public Health . 2019;19(1):49. doi:10.1186/s12889-018-6338-0
Shen S, Cheng C, Yang J, Yang S. Visualized analysis of developing trends and hot topics in natural disaster research. PLoS One . 2018;13(1):e0191250. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0191250
Renshaw KD. An integrated model of risk and protective factors for post-deployment PTSD symptoms in OEF/OIF era combat veterans. J Affect Disord . 2011;128(3):321-326. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2010.07.022
American Psychological Association. Health psychology promotes wellness .
By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."
We use cookies to give you the best experience possible. By continuing we’ll assume you’re on board with our cookie policy
Read also: Learn how to organize a research paper .
By clicking "Log In", you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy . We'll occasionally send you account related and promo emails.
Sign Up for your FREE account
100+ Mental Health Research Topic Ideas To Fast-Track Your Project
If you’re just starting out exploring mental health topics for your dissertation, thesis or research project, you’ve come to the right place. In this post, we’ll help kickstart your research topic ideation process by providing a hearty list of mental health-related research topics and ideas.
PS – This is just the start…
We know it’s exciting to run through a list of research topics, but please keep in mind that this list is just a starting point . To develop a suitable education-related research topic, you’ll need to identify a clear and convincing research gap , and a viable plan of action to fill that gap.
If this sounds foreign to you, check out our free research topic webinar that explores how to find and refine a high-quality research topic, from scratch. Alternatively, if you’d like hands-on help, consider our 1-on-1 coaching service .
Research in mood disorders can help understand their causes and improve treatment methods. Here are a few ideas to get you started.
Research topics in this category can potentially explore the triggers, coping mechanisms, or treatment efficacy for anxiety disorders.
Within this space, your research topic could potentially aim to investigate the underlying factors and treatment possibilities for psychotic disorders.
Research topics within in this area could delve into the identification, management, and social implications of personality disorders.
Within this space, research topics could focus on the causes, symptoms, or treatment of disorders like OCD and hoarding.
Research topics in this area could explore the triggers, symptoms, and treatments for PTSD. Here are some thought starters to get you moving.
This category of mental health aims to better understand disorders like Autism and ADHD and their impact on day-to-day life.
Research topics within this space can explore the psychological, social, and biological aspects of eating disorders.
Research topics in this category can focus on addiction mechanisms, treatment options, and social implications.
These research topic ideas we’ve covered here serve as thought starters to help you explore different areas within mental health. They are intentionally very broad and open-ended. By engaging with the currently literature in your field of interest, you’ll be able to narrow down your focus to a specific research gap .
It’s important to consider a variety of factors when choosing a topic for your dissertation or thesis . Think about the relevance of the topic, its feasibility , and the resources available to you, including time, data, and academic guidance. Also, consider your own interest and expertise in the subject, as this will sustain you through the research process.
Always consult with your academic advisor to ensure that your chosen topic aligns with academic requirements and offers a meaningful contribution to the field. If you need help choosing a topic, consider our private coaching service.
Good morning everyone. This are very patent topics for research in neuroscience. Thank you for guidance
What if everything is important, original and intresting? as in Neuroscience. I find myself overwhelmd with tens of relveant areas and within each area many optional topics. I ask myself if importance (for example – able to treat people suffering) is more relevant than what intrest me, and on the other hand if what advance me further in my career should not also be a consideration?
This information is really helpful and have learnt alot
Phd research topics on implementation of mental health policy in Nigeria :the prospects, challenges and way forward.
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
Choosing a topic:
There are many places to look for information about current health issues, from newspapers and news stories to scholarly articles, as well as government and non-profit organization websites. Try these websites to look at current health trends:
Government Websites
Once you've decided on a topic, think about what questions you want to ask about that topic. What would you like to know more about? Thinking about this will help you develop a research question.
Examples of research questions:
After you have formulated a research question, you'll want to search a variety of health resource to make sure that there is enough information about your topic for you to complete the assignments.
Factors to consider when formulating a research question:
The first step in a literature search is to construct a well-defined question. This helps in ensuring a comprehensive and efficient search of the available literature for relevant publications on your topic. The well-constructed research question provides guidance for determining search terms and search strategy parameters.
A good or well-constructed research question is:
The question you ask should be developed for the discipline you are studying. A question appropriate for Physical Therapy, for instance, is different from an appropriate one in Sociology, Political Science or Microbiology .
The well-constructed question provides guidance for determining search terms and search strategy parameters. The process of developing a good question to research involves taking your topic and breaking each aspect of it down into its component parts.
One well-established way that can be used both for creating research questions and developing strategies is known as PICO(T). The PICO framework was designed primarily for questions that include clinical interventions and comparisons, however other types of questions may also be able to follow its principles. If the PICO framework does not precisely fit your question, using its principles can help you to think about what you want to explore even if you do not end up with a true PICO question.
Fandino W. (2019). Formulating a good research question: Pearls and pitfalls. Indian journal of anaesthesia , 63 (8), 611–616.
Vandenbroucke, J. P., & Pearce, N. (2018). From ideas to studies: how to get ideas and sharpen them into research questions . Clinical epidemiology , 10 , 253–264.
Ratan, S. K., Anand, T., & Ratan, J. (2019). Formulation of Research Question - Stepwise Approach . Journal of Indian Association of Pediatric Surgeons , 24 (1), 15–20.
Lipowski, E.E. (2008). Developing great research questions. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, 65(17) , 1667–1670.
Another set of criteria for developing a research question was proposed by Hulley (2013) and is known as the FINER criteria.
FINER stands for:
Feasible – Writing a feasible research question means that it CAN be answered under objective aspects like time, scope, resources, expertise, or funding. Good questions must be amenable to the formulation of clear hypotheses.
Interesting – The question or topic should be of interest to the researcher and the outside world. It should have a clinical and/or educational significance – the “so what?” factor.
Novel – In scientific literature, novelty defines itself by being an answer to an existing gap in knowledge. Filling one of these gaps is highly rewarding for any researcher as it may represent a real difference in peoples’ lives.
Good research leads to new information. An investigation which simply reiterates what is previously proven is not worth the effort and cost. A question doesn’t have to be completely original. It may ask whether an earlier observation could be replicated, whether the results in one population also apply to others, or whether enhanced measurement methods can make clear the relationship between two variables.
Ethical – In empirical research, ethics is an absolute MUST. Make sure that safety and confidentiality measures are addressed, and according to the necessary IRB protocols.
Relevant – An idea that is considered relevant in the healthcare community has better chances to be discussed upon by a larger number of researchers and recognized experts, leading to innovation and rapid information dissemination.
The results could potentially be important and may change current ideas and/or practice.
Cummings, S.R., Browner, W.S., & Hulley, S.B. (2013). Conceiving the research question and developing the study plan. In: Designing clinical research (Hulley, S. R. Cummings, W. S. Browner, D. Grady, & T. B. Newman, Eds.; Fourth edition.). Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Pp. 14-22.
Phd in nursing science program, examples of broad clinical research questions include:.
DISTINCTIONS
Last updated
15 February 2024
Reviewed by
Brittany Ferri, PhD, OTR/L
Short on time? Get an AI generated summary of this article instead
Psychology research is essential for furthering our understanding of human behavior and improving the diagnosis and treatment of psychological conditions.
When psychologists know more about how different social and cultural factors influence how humans act, think, and feel, they can recommend improvements to practices in areas such as education, sport, healthcare, and law enforcement.
Below, you will find 80 research question examples across 16 branches of psychology. First, though, let’s look at some tips to help you select a suitable research topic.
Psychology has many branches that break down further into topics. Choosing a topic for your psychology research paper can be daunting because there are so many to choose from. It’s an important choice, as the topic you select will open up a range of questions to explore.
The tips below can help you find a psychology research topic that suits your skills and interests.
Passion and interest should fuel every research project. A topic that fascinates you will most likely interest others as well. Think about the questions you and others might have and decide on the issues that matter most. Draw on your own interests, but also keep your research topical and relevant to others.
Don’t limit yourself to a topic that you already know about. Instead, choose one that will make you want to know more and dig deeper. This will keep you motivated and excited about your research.
If your topic is too broad, you can get overwhelmed by the amount of information available and have trouble maintaining focus. On the other hand, you may find it difficult to find enough information if you choose a topic that is too narrow.
To determine if the topic is too broad or too narrow, start researching as early as possible. If you find there’s an overwhelming amount of research material, you’ll probably need to narrow the topic down. For example, instead of researching the general population, it might be easier to focus on a specific age group. Ask yourself what area of the general topic interests you most and focus on that.
If your scope is too narrow, try to generalize or focus on a larger related topic. Expand your search criteria or select additional databases for information. Consider if the topic is too new to have much information published on it as well.
Doing some preliminary research will reveal any existing research on the topic. If there is existing research, will you be able to produce new insights? You might need to focus on a different area or see if the existing research has limitations that you can overcome.
Bear in mind that finding new information from which to draw fresh insights may be impossible if your topic has been over-researched.
You’ll also need to consider whether your topic is relevant to current trends and needs. For example, researching psychology topics related to social media use may be highly relevant today.
Psychology is a broad subject with many branches and potential areas of study. Here are some of them:
Developmental
Personality
Experimental
Organizational
Educational
Neuropsychology
Controversial topics
Below we offer some suggestions on research topics and questions that can get you started. Keep in mind that these are not all-inclusive but should be personalized to fit the theme of your paper.
Social psychology has roots as far back as the 18th century. In simple terms, it’s the study of how behavior is influenced by the presence and behavior of others. It is the science of finding out who we are, who we think we are, and how our perceptions affect ourselves and others. It looks at personalities, relationships, and group behavior.
Here are some potential research questions and paper titles for this topic:
How does social media use impact perceptions of body image in male adolescents?
2. Is childhood bullying a risk factor for social anxiety in adults?
Is homophobia in individuals caused by genetic or environmental factors?
What is the most important psychological predictor of a person’s willingness to donate to charity?
Does a person’s height impact how other people perceive them? If so, how?
Cognitive psychology is the branch that focuses on the interactions of thinking, emotion, creativity, and problem-solving. It also explores the reasons humans think the way they do.
This topic involves exploring how people think by measuring intelligence, thoughts, and cognition.
Here are some research question ideas:
6. Is there a link between chronic stress and memory function?
7. Can certain kinds of music trigger memories in people with memory loss?
8. Do remote meetings impact the efficacy of team decision-making?
9. Do word games and puzzles slow cognitive decline in adults over the age of 80?
10. Does watching television impact a child’s reading ability?
Developmental psychology is the study of how humans grow and change over their lifespan. It usually focuses on the social, emotional, and physical development of babies and children, though it can apply to people of all ages. Developmental psychology is important for understanding how we learn, mature, and adapt to changes.
Here are some questions that might inspire your research:
11. Does grief accelerate the aging process?
12. How do parent–child attachment patterns influence the development of emotion regulation in teenagers?
13. Does bilingualism affect cognitive decline in adults over the age of 70?
14. How does the transition to adulthood impact decision-making abilities
15. How does early exposure to music impact mental health and well-being in school-aged children?
Personality psychology studies personalities, how they develop, their structures, and the processes that define them. It looks at intelligence, disposition, moral beliefs, thoughts, and reactions.
The goal of this branch of psychology is to scientifically interpret the way personality patterns manifest into an individual’s behaviors. Here are some example research questions:
16. Nature vs. nurture: Which impacts personality development the most?
17. The role of genetics on personality: Does an adopted child take on their biological parents’ personality traits?
18. How do personality traits influence leadership styles and effectiveness in organizational settings?
19. Is there a relationship between an individual’s personality and mental health?
20. Can a chronic illness affect your personality?
As the name suggests, abnormal psychology is a branch that focuses on abnormal behavior and psychopathology (the scientific study of mental illness or disorders).
Abnormal behavior can be challenging to define. Who decides what is “normal”? As such, psychologists in this area focus on the level of distress that certain behaviors may cause, although this typically involves studying mental health conditions such as depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and phobias.
Here are some questions to consider:
21. How does technology impact the development of social anxiety disorder?
22. What are the factors behind the rising incidence of eating disorders in adolescents?
23. Are mindfulness-based interventions effective in the treatment of PTSD?
24. Is there a connection between depression and gambling addiction?
25. Can physical trauma cause psychopathy?
Clinical psychology deals with assessing and treating mental illness or abnormal or psychiatric behaviors. It differs from abnormal psychology in that it focuses more on treatments and clinical aspects, while abnormal psychology is more behavioral focused.
This is a specialty area that provides care and treatment for complex mental health conditions. This can include treatment, not only for individuals but for couples, families, and other groups. Clinical psychology also supports communities, conducts research, and offers training to promote mental health. This category is very broad, so there are lots of topics to explore.
Below are some example research questions to consider:
26. Do criminals require more specific therapies or interventions?
27. How effective are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in treating mental health disorders?
28. Are there any disadvantages to humanistic therapy?
29. Can group therapy be more beneficial than one-on-one therapy sessions?
30. What are the factors to consider when selecting the right treatment plan for patients with anxiety?
Experimental psychology deals with studies that can prove or disprove a hypothesis. Psychologists in this field use scientific methods to collect data on basic psychological processes such as memory, cognition, and learning. They use this data to test the whys and hows of behavior and how outside factors influence its creation.
Areas of interest in this branch relate to perception, memory, emotion, and sensation. The below are example questions that could inspire your own research:
31. Do male or female parents/carers have a more calming influence on children?
32. Will your preference for a genre of music increase the more you listen to it?
33. What are the psychological effects of posting on social media vs. not posting?
34. How is productivity affected by social connection?
35. Is cheating contagious?
Organizational psychology studies human behavior in the workplace. It is most frequently used to evaluate an employee, group, or a company’s organizational dynamics. Researchers aim to isolate issues and identify solutions.
This area of study can be beneficial to both employees and employers since the goal is to improve the overall work environment and experience. Researchers apply psychological principles and findings to recommend improvements in performance, communication, job satisfaction, and safety.
Some potential research questions include the following:
36. How do different leadership styles affect employee morale?
37. Do longer lunch breaks boost employee productivity?
38. Is gender an antecedent to workplace stress?
39. What is the most effective way to promote work–life balance among employees?
40. How do different organizational structures impact the effectiveness of communication, decision-making, and productivity?
Some questions to consider exploring in this branch of psychology are:
41. How does incarceration affect mental health?
42. Is childhood trauma a driver for criminal behavior during adulthood?
43. Are people with mental health conditions more likely to be victims of crimes?
44. What are the drivers of false memories, and how do they impact the justice system?
45. Is the media responsible for copycat crimes?
Educational psychology studies children in an educational setting. It covers topics like teaching methods, aptitude assessment, self-motivation, technology, and parental involvement.
Research in this field of psychology is vital for understanding and optimizing learning processes. It informs educators about cognitive development, learning styles, and effective teaching strategies.
Here are some example research questions:
46. Are different teaching styles more beneficial for children at different times of the day?
47. Can listening to classical music regularly increase a student’s test scores?
48. Is there a connection between sugar consumption and knowledge retention in students?
49. Does sleep duration and quality impact academic performance?
50. Does daily meditation at school influence students’ academic performance and mental health?
Sport psychology aims to optimize physical performance and well-being in athletes by using cognitive and behavioral practices and interventions. Some methods include counseling, training, and clinical interventions.
Research in this area is important because it can improve team and individual performance, resilience, motivation, confidence, and overall well-being
Here are some research question ideas for you to consider:
51. How can a famous coach affect a team’s performance?
52. How can athletes control negative emotions in violent or high-contact sports?
53. How does using social media impact an athlete’s performance and well-being?
54. Can psychological interventions help with injury rehabilitation?
55. How can mindfulness practices boost sports performance?
The premise of this branch of psychology is that mind and culture are inseparable. In other words, people are shaped by their cultures, and their cultures are shaped by them. This can be a complex interaction.
Cultural psychology is vital as it explores how cultural context shapes individuals’ thoughts, behaviors, and perceptions. It provides insights into diverse perspectives, promoting cross-cultural understanding and reducing biases.
Here are some ideas that you might consider researching:
56. Are there cultural differences in how people perceive and deal with pain?
57. Are different cultures at increased risk of developing mental health conditions?
58. Are there cultural differences in coping strategies for stress?
59. Do our different cultures shape our personalities?
60. How does multi-generational culture influence family values and structure?
Health psychology is a crucial field of study. Understanding how psychological factors influence health behaviors, adherence to medical treatments, and overall wellness enables health experts to develop effective interventions and preventive measures, ultimately improving health outcomes.
Health psychology also aids in managing stress, promoting healthy behaviors, and optimizing mental health, fostering a holistic approach to well-being.
Here are five ideas to inspire research in this field:
61. How can health psychology interventions improve lifestyle behaviors to prevent cardiovascular diseases?
62. What role do social norms play in vaping among adolescents?
63. What role do personality traits play in the development and management of chronic pain conditions?
64. How do cultural beliefs and attitudes influence health-seeking behaviors in diverse populations?
65. What are the psychological factors influencing the adherence to preventive health behaviors, such as vaccination and regular screenings?
Neuropsychology research explores how a person’s cognition and behavior are related to their brain and nervous system. Researchers aim to advance the diagnosis and treatment of behavioral and cognitive effects of neurological disorders.
Researchers may work with children facing learning or developmental challenges, or with adults with declining cognitive abilities. They may also focus on injuries or illnesses of the brain, such as traumatic brain injuries, to determine the effect on cognitive and behavioral functions.
Neuropsychology informs diagnosis and treatment strategies for conditions such as dementia, traumatic brain injuries, and psychiatric disorders. Understanding the neural basis of behavior enhances our ability to optimize cognitive functioning, rehabilitate people with brain injuries, and improve patient care.
Here are some example research questions to consider:
66. How do neurotransmitter imbalances in specific brain regions contribute to mood disorders such as depression?
67. How can a traumatic brain injury affect memory?
68. What neural processes underlie attention deficits in people with ADHD?
69. Do medications affect the brain differently after a traumatic brain injury?
70. What are the behavioral effects of prolonged brain swelling?
The psychology of religion is a field that studies the interplay between belief systems, spirituality, and mental well-being. It explores the application of the psychological methods and interpretive frameworks of religious traditions and how they relate to both religious and non-religious people.
Psychology of religion research contributes to a holistic understanding of human experiences. It fosters cultural competence and guides therapeutic approaches that respect diverse spiritual beliefs.
Here are some example research questions in this field:
71. What impact does a religious upbringing have on a child’s self-esteem?
72. How do religious beliefs shape decision-making and perceptions of morality?
73. What is the impact of religious indoctrination?
74. Is there correlation between religious and mindfulness practices?
75. How does religious affiliation impact attitudes towards mental health treatment and help-seeking behaviors?
Some psychology topics don’t fit into any of the subcategories above, but they may still be worthwhile topics to consider. These topics are the ones that spark interest, conversation, debate, and disagreement. They are often inspired by current issues and assess the validity of older research.
Consider some of these research question examples:
76. How does the rise in on-screen violence impact behavior in adolescents.
77. Should access to social media platforms be restricted in children under the age of 12 to improve mental health?
78. Are prescription mental health medications over-prescribed in older adults? If so, what are the effects of this?
79. Cognitive biases in AI: what are the implications for decision-making?
80. What are the psychological and ethical implications of using virtual reality in exposure therapy for treating trauma-related conditions?
You can choose from a diverse range of research questions that intersect and overlap across various specialties.
From cognitive psychology to clinical studies, each inquiry contributes to a deeper understanding of the human mind and behavior. Importantly, the relevance of these questions transcends individual disciplines, as many findings offer insights applicable across multiple areas of study.
As health trends evolve and societal needs shift, new topics emerge, fueling continual exploration and discovery. Diving into this ever-changing and expanding area of study enables you to navigate the complexities of the human experience and pave the way for innovative solutions to the challenges of tomorrow.
Do you want to discover previous research faster?
Do you share your research findings with others?
Do you analyze research data?
Start for free today, add your research, and get to key insights faster
Last updated: 18 April 2023
Last updated: 27 February 2023
Last updated: 6 February 2023
Last updated: 5 February 2023
Last updated: 16 April 2023
Last updated: 9 March 2023
Last updated: 30 April 2024
Last updated: 12 December 2023
Last updated: 11 March 2024
Last updated: 4 July 2024
Last updated: 6 March 2024
Last updated: 5 March 2024
Last updated: 13 May 2024
Related topics, .css-je19u9{-webkit-align-items:flex-end;-webkit-box-align:flex-end;-ms-flex-align:flex-end;align-items:flex-end;display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;-webkit-box-flex-wrap:wrap;-webkit-flex-wrap:wrap;-ms-flex-wrap:wrap;flex-wrap:wrap;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;row-gap:0;text-align:center;max-width:671px;}@media (max-width: 1079px){.css-je19u9{max-width:400px;}.css-je19u9>span{white-space:pre;}}@media (max-width: 799px){.css-je19u9{max-width:400px;}.css-je19u9>span{white-space:pre;}} decide what to .css-1kiodld{max-height:56px;display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;}@media (max-width: 1079px){.css-1kiodld{display:none;}} build next, decide what to build next, log in or sign up.
Get started for free
College and university students pursuing psychology studies must write research papers on mental health in their studies. It is not always an exciting moment for the students since getting quality mental health topics is tedious. However, this article presents expert ideas and writing tips for students in this field. Enjoy!
It is an integral component of health that deals with the feeling of well-being when one realizes his or her abilities, cope with the pressures of life, and productively work. Mental health also incorporates how humans interact with each other, emote, or think. It is a vital concern of any human life that cannot be neglected.
One should approach the subject of mental health with utmost preciseness. If handled carelessly, cases such as depression, suicide or low self-esteem may occur. That is why students are advised to carefully choose mental health research paper topics for their paper with the mind reader.
To get mental health topics for research paper, you can use the following sources:
However, we have a list of writing ideas that you can use for your inspiration. Check them out!
Consider using our expert research paper writing services for your mental health paper today. Satisfaction is guaranteed!
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Comment * Error message
Name * Error message
Email * Error message
Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
As Putin continues killing civilians, bombing kindergartens, and threatening WWIII, Ukraine fights for the world's peaceful future.
Ukraine Live Updates
New research challenges long-held beliefs about the perks of drinking..
Posted August 10, 2024 | Reviewed by Margaret Foley
Although it was widely believed for decades that there are health benefits linked with moderate amounts of alcohol consumption, not everyone who drinks experiences health benefits from it. According to the largest study evaluating the relationship between alcohol use and chronic diseases, which included over 1 billion people across the world, the safety and potential benefits of drinking alcohol depend largely on your age. This groundbreaking study found there are no health benefits of drinking among those who are under the age of 40 . This younger group is not only susceptible to the health risks and harms related to alcohol use (including motor vehicle accidents, injuries, and suicides related to drinking), but alcohol consumption did not benefit their health or reduce their risk of chronic diseases.
If you or someone you know drinks alcohol, it is important to bring intention to the quantity that you consume, with knowledge of what is considered heavy or risky alcohol use.
If you or someone you care about has trouble controlling their alcohol use, consult a professional. I cover this topic in more depth in my book, Addiction: What Everyone Needs to Know , and on my podcast .
GBD 2020 Alcohol Collaborators (2022). Population-level risks of alcohol consumption by amount, geography, age, sex, and year: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2020. Lancet (London, England) , 400 (10347), 185–235. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(22)00847-9
Suzette Glasner, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist and an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at UCLA.
Sticking up for yourself is no easy task. But there are concrete skills you can use to hone your assertiveness and advocate for yourself.
Looking to get the facts about COVID-19 vaccines? Here's what you need to know about the different vaccines and the benefits of getting vaccinated.
As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to cause illness, you might have questions about COVID-19 vaccines. Find out about the different types of COVID-19 vaccines, how they work, the possible side effects, and the benefits for you and your family.
What are the benefits of getting a covid-19 vaccine.
Staying up to date with a COVID-19 vaccine can:
Factors that can affect how well you're protected after a vaccine can include your age, if you've had COVID-19 before or if you have medical conditions such as cancer.
How well a COVID-19 vaccine protects you also depends on timing, such as when you got the shot. And your level of protection depends on how the virus that causes COVID-19 changes and what variants the vaccine protects against.
Talk to your healthcare team about how you can stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines.
Yes. Catching the virus that causes COVID-19 or getting a COVID-19 vaccination gives you protection, also called immunity, from the virus. But over time, that protection seems to fade. The COVID-19 vaccine can boost your body's protection.
Also, the virus that causes COVID-19 can change, also called mutate. Vaccination with the most up-to-date variant that is spreading or expected to spread helps keep you from getting sick again.
Researchers continue to study what happens when someone has COVID-19 a second time. Later infections are generally milder than the first infection. But severe illness can still happen. Serious illness is more likely among people older than age 65, people with more than four medical conditions and people with weakened immune systems.
What covid-19 vaccines have been authorized or approved.
The COVID-19 vaccines available in the United States are:
These vaccines have U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) emergency use authorization or approval.
In December 2020, the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine two-dose series was found to be both safe and effective in preventing COVID-19 infection in people age 18 and older. This data helped predict how well the vaccines would work for younger people. The effectiveness varied by age.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is approved under the name Comirnaty for people age 12 and older. The FDA authorized the vaccine for people age 6 months to 11 years. The number of shots in this vaccination series varies based on a person's age and COVID-19 vaccination history.
In December 2020, the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine was found to be both safe and effective in preventing infection and serious illness among people age 18 or older. The vaccine's ability to protect younger people was predicted based on that clinical trial data.
The FDA approved the vaccine under the name Spikevax for people age 12 and older. The FDA authorized use of the vaccine in people age 6 months to 11 years. The number of shots needed varies based on a person's age and COVID-19 vaccination history.
In July 2022, this vaccine was found to be safe and effective and became available under an emergency use authorization for people age 18 and older.
In August 2022, the FDA authorized the vaccine for people age 12 and older. The number of shots in this vaccination series varies based on a person's age and COVID-19 vaccination history.
In August 2022, the FDA authorized an update to the Moderna and the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines. Both included the original and omicron variants of the virus that causes COVID-19. In June 2023, the FDA directed vaccine makers to update COVID-19 vaccines. The vaccines were changed to target a strain of the virus that causes COVID-19 called XBB.1.5. In September and October 2023, the FDA authorized the use of the updated 2023-2024 COVID-19 vaccines made by Novavax, Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech.
COVID-19 vaccines help the body get ready to clear out infection with the virus that causes COVID-19.
Both the Pfizer-BioNTech and the Moderna COVID-19 vaccines use genetically engineered messenger RNA (mRNA). The mRNA in the vaccine tells your cells how to make a harmless piece of virus that causes COVID-19.
After you get an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, your muscle cells begin making the protein pieces and displaying them on cell surfaces. The immune system recognizes the protein and begins building an immune response and making antibodies. After delivering instructions, the mRNA is immediately broken down. It never enters the nucleus of your cells, where your DNA is kept.
The Novavax COVID-19 adjuvanted vaccine is a protein subunit vaccine. These vaccines include only protein pieces of a virus that cause your immune system to react the most. The Novavax COVID-19 vaccine also has an ingredient called an adjuvant that helps raise your immune system response.
With a protein subunit vaccine, the body reacts to the proteins and creates antibodies and defensive white blood cells. If you later become infected with the COVID-19 virus, the antibodies will fight the virus. Protein subunit COVID-19 vaccines don't use any live virus and can't cause you to become infected with the COVID-19 virus. The protein pieces also don't enter the nucleus of your cells, where your DNA is kept.
No. The COVID-19 vaccines available in the U.S. don't use the live virus that causes COVID-19. Because of this, the COVID-19 vaccines can't cause you to become sick with COVID-19.
It can take a few weeks for your body to build immunity after getting a COVID-19 vaccination. As a result, it's possible that you could become infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 just before or after being vaccinated.
Some people have no side effects from the COVID-19 vaccine. For those who get them, most side effects go away in a few days.
A COVID-19 vaccine can cause mild side effects after the first or second dose. Pain and swelling where people got the shot is a common side effect. That area also may look reddish on white skin. Other side effects include:
For younger children up to age 4, symptoms may include crying or fussiness, sleepiness, loss of appetite, or, less often, a fever.
In rare cases, getting a COVID-19 vaccine can cause an allergic reaction. Symptoms of a life-threatening allergic reaction can include:
If you or a person you're caring for has any life-threatening symptoms, get emergency care.
Less serious allergic reactions include a general rash other than where you got the vaccine, or swelling of the lips, face or skin other than where you got the shot. Contact your healthcare professional if you have any of these symptoms.
You may be asked to stay where you got the vaccine for about 15 minutes after the shot. This allows the healthcare team to help you if you have an allergic reaction. The healthcare team may ask you to wait for longer if you had an allergic reaction from a previous shot that wasn't serious.
Contact a healthcare professional if the area where you got the shot gets worse after 24 hours. And if you're worried about any side effects, contact your healthcare team.
The vaccines that help protect against COVID-19 are safe and effective. Clinical trials tested the vaccines to make sure of those facts. Healthcare professionals, researchers and health agencies continue to watch for rare side effects, even after hundreds of millions of doses have been given in the United States.
Side effects that don't go away after a few days are thought of as long term. Vaccines rarely cause any long-term side effects.
If you're concerned about side effects, safety data on COVID-19 vaccines is reported to a national program called the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System in the U.S. This data is available to the public. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Protection (CDC) also has created v-safe, a smartphone-based tool that allows users to report COVID-19 vaccine side effects.
If you have other questions or concerns about your symptoms, talk to your healthcare professional.
In some people, COVID-19 vaccines can lead to heart complications called myocarditis and pericarditis. Myocarditis is the swelling, also called inflammation, of the heart muscle. Pericarditis is the swelling, also called inflammation, of the lining outside the heart.
Symptoms to watch for include:
If you or your child has any of these symptoms within a week of getting a COVID-19 vaccine, seek medical care.
The risk of myocarditis or pericarditis after a COVID-19 vaccine is rare. These conditions have been reported after COVID-19 vaccination with any of the vaccines offered in the United States. Most cases have been reported in males ages 12 to 39.
These conditions happened more often after the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and typically within one week of COVID-19 vaccination. Most of the people who got care felt better after receiving medicine and resting.
These complications are rare and also may happen after getting sick with the virus that causes COVID-19. In general, research on the effects of the most used COVID-19 vaccines in the United States suggests the vaccines lower the risk of complications such as blood clots or other types of damage to the heart.
If you have concerns, your healthcare professional can help you review the risks and benefits based on your health condition.
Are covid-19 vaccines free.
In the U.S., COVID-19 vaccines may be offered at no cost through insurance coverage. For people whose vaccines aren't covered or for those who don't have health insurance, options are available. Anyone younger than 18 years old can get no-cost vaccines through the Vaccines for Children program. Adults can get no-cost COVID-19 vaccines through the temporary Bridges to Access program, which is scheduled to end in December 2024.
Yes, COVID-19 vaccines are safe for people who have existing health conditions, including conditions that have a higher risk of getting serious illness with COVID-19.
The COVID-19 vaccine can lower the risk of death or serious illness caused by COVID-19. Your healthcare team may suggest that you get added doses of a COVID-19 vaccine if you have a moderately or severely weakened immune system.
Cancer treatments and other therapies that affect some immune cells also may affect your COVID-19 vaccine. Talk to your healthcare professional about timing additional shots and getting vaccinated after immunosuppressive treatment.
Talk to your healthcare team if you have any questions about when to get a COVID-19 vaccine.
Don't take medicine before getting a COVID-19 vaccine to prevent possible discomfort. It's not clear how these medicines might impact the effectiveness of the vaccines. It is OK to take this kind of medicine after getting a COVID-19 vaccine, as long as you have no other medical reason that would prevent you from taking it.
What are the signs of an allergic reaction to a covid-19 vaccine.
Symptoms of a life-threatening allergic reaction can include:
If you or a person you're caring for has any life-threatening symptoms, get emergency care right away.
Less serious allergic reactions include a general rash other than where you got the vaccine, or swelling of the lips, face or skin other than where the shot was given. Contact your healthcare professional if you have any of these symptoms.
Tell your healthcare professional about your reaction, even if it went away on its own or you didn't get emergency care. This reaction might mean that you are allergic to the vaccine. You might not be able to get a second dose of the same vaccine. But you might be able to get a different vaccine for your second dose.
If you have a history of severe allergic reactions not related to vaccines or injectable medicines, you may still get a COVID-19 vaccine. You're typically monitored for 30 minutes after getting the vaccine.
If you've had an immediate allergic reaction to other vaccines or injectable medicines, ask your healthcare professional about getting a COVID-19 vaccine. If you've ever had an immediate or severe allergic reaction to any ingredient in a COVID-19 vaccine, the CDC recommends not getting that specific vaccine.
If you have an immediate or severe allergic reaction after getting the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, don't get the second dose. But you might be able to get a different vaccine for your second dose.
Can pregnant or breastfeeding women get the covid-19 vaccine.
The CDC recommends getting a COVID-19 vaccine if:
Staying up to date on your COVID-19 vaccine helps prevent severe COVID-19 illness. It also may help a newborn avoid getting COVID-19 if you are vaccinated during pregnancy.
People at higher risk of serious illness can talk to a healthcare professional about additional COVID-19 vaccines or other precautions. It also can help to ask about what to do if you get sick so that you can quickly start treatment.
If children don't often experience severe illness with covid-19, why do they need a covid-19 vaccine.
While rare, some children can become seriously ill with COVID-19 after getting the virus that causes COVID-19 .
A COVID-19 vaccine might prevent your child from getting the virus that causes COVID-19 . It also may prevent your child from becoming seriously ill or having to stay in the hospital due to the COVID-19 virus.
Can i stop taking safety precautions after getting a covid-19 vaccine.
You can more safely return to activities that you might have avoided before your vaccine was up to date. You also may be able to spend time in closer contact with people who are at high risk for serious COVID-19 illness.
But vaccines are not 100% effective. So taking other action to lower your risk of getting COVID-19 still helps protect you and others from the virus. These steps are even more important when you're in an area with a high number of people with COVID-19 in the hospital. Protection also is important as time passes since your last vaccination.
If you are at higher risk for serious COVID-19 illness, basic actions to prevent COVID-19 are even more important. Some examples are:
COVID-19 vaccination will protect most people from getting sick with COVID-19. But some people who are up to date with their vaccines may still get COVID-19. These are called vaccine breakthrough infections.
People with vaccine breakthrough infections can spread COVID-19 to others. However, people who are up to date with their vaccines but who have a breakthrough infection are less likely to have serious illness with COVID-19 than those who are not vaccinated. Even when people who are vaccinated get symptoms, they tend to be less severe than those felt by unvaccinated people.
Researchers continue to study what happens when someone has COVID-19 a second time. Reinfections and breakthrough infections are generally milder than the first infection. But severe illness can still happen. Serious illness is more likely among people older than age 65, people with more than four medical conditions and people with weakened immune systems.
There is a problem with information submitted for this request. Review/update the information highlighted below and resubmit the form.
Sign up for free and stay up to date on research advancements, health tips, current health topics, and expertise on managing health. Click here for an email preview.
Error Email field is required
Error Include a valid email address
To provide you with the most relevant and helpful information, and understand which information is beneficial, we may combine your email and website usage information with other information we have about you. If you are a Mayo Clinic patient, this could include protected health information. If we combine this information with your protected health information, we will treat all of that information as protected health information and will only use or disclose that information as set forth in our notice of privacy practices. You may opt-out of email communications at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link in the e-mail.
You'll soon start receiving the latest Mayo Clinic health information you requested in your inbox.
Please, try again in a couple of minutes
Your donation can make a difference in the future of healthcare. Give now to support Mayo Clinic's research.
Seeking environments that ‘generate health’
Washington University appoints Sandro Galea as inaugural dean of its planned School of Public Health to work toward healthier futures in St. Louis and globally.
“As time passes, we understand more and more that health is much more about the world around us than it is about medicine,” says epidemiologist and sought-after speaker Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH, in the 2023 TEDMED Conversation “Creating a healthier future for all.”
Galea stresses during the discussion that health is made by many conditions: whether your home and workplace are safe, whether you have education that provides material comfort, whether the air you breathe is polluted, and whether the food you eat is nutritious or calorie dense but nutrient poor.
“We tend to think of doctors as generating health, and doctors do matter … but they are important to restore us to health if we are already sick,” he says. “To keep ourselves healthy, we fundamentally want to live in environments that generate health.”
Washington University recently announced that Galea — one of the world’s most influential public health leaders — will become inaugural dean of its planned School of Public Health, effective Jan. 1, 2025. In this critical role, Galea will help shape WashU’s first new school in 100 years. The school is part of “Here and Next,” WashU’s 10-year strategic plan to make both the university and St. Louis a global hub for solving society’s deepest challenges.
“To keep ourselves healthy, we fundamentally want to live in environments that generate health.” Sandro Galea, MD, DrPH
“Sandro Galea’s choice to come to WashU is an endorsement of the strengths, opportunities and potential offered by our university and St. Louis,” says Beverly Wendland, provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs. “His insights into the complex interplay between social, environmental and health factors will be crucial as we seek to usher in the next era of public health in partnership with our community.”
Galea is dean of Boston University’s School of Public Health and the Robert A. Knox Professor, and professor of family medicine at its Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine.
At WashU, he will hold the newly endowed Margaret C. Ryan Deanship at the School of Public Health. Tony and Ann Ryan, of Boston, made a gift to endow the deanship in honor of their late daughter, Maggie Ryan, AB ’16, who demonstrated a strong commitment to leadership and global health. He also will hold the Eugene S. and Constance D. Kahn Distinguished Professorship in Public Health, established by a commitment from WashU Emeritus Trustee Gene Kahn and his wife, Connie.
Galea researches the behavioral health ramifications of trauma, including those caused by firearms. He has studied the effects of 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, conflicts in sub-Saharan Africa, and the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He also links health to social disadvantages such as poverty and lack of education.
One of the world’s most cited social scientists, Galea has written more than 1,000 scientific journal articles, 75 chapters and 24 books. His books Epidemiology Matters and Public Health: An Introduction to the Science and Practice of Population Health are widely used as textbooks in public health and epidemiology courses. Thomson Reuters has named Galea among “the world’s most influential scientific minds.”
“Sandro Galea is a trailblazer in the field of public health,” says Chancellor Andrew D. Martin. “With his leadership at our planned School of Public Health, we’re poised to have a real impact on advancing community health in St. Louis and worldwide. We’re incredibly fortunate to have recruited such an inspiring and influential scholar and practitioner to this critical role.”
Galea’s wife, Margaret E. Kruk, MD, MPH, also is joining the WashU faculty. Kruk is a professor of health systems at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and director of the QuEST Centers and Network, a multicountry research consortium generating evidence to build high-quality health systems. Her research focuses on how health systems can produce better outcomes for people living in low- and middle-income countries.
At WashU, she will serve as a distinguished professor in health systems and medicine in the Department of Medicine and as director of the universitywide QuEST Center.
Plans for WashU’s School of Public Health, set to launch in fall 2026, were announced in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which revealed great American distrust in the health-care system. What’s more, Americans have the worst health outcomes among high-income nations, according to a 2022 Commonwealth Fund report, due to factors such as limited health-care access, income inequality, education gaps, unhealthy lifestyles, a fragmented health-care system and high costs.
“I can think of no more important time to create a school of public health than today,” Galea says. “And I can think of no better place to do so than at Washington University, with this institution’s deep and rich tradition of excellence in scholarship and in thought. All the pieces are in place to do wonderful things, both for WashU and the world.”
August 2024
Greetings from WashU
Innovating for the future of medicine
When it’s the outside that counts
Building on relationships
Crossing borders, bridging divides
‘Mother’ lode
Health and hope in Montana
Reconciling with our past
Building trust and community
Throw like a girl
Preparing leaders
Strengthening the physician-scientist pipeline
Rethinking the waste in water
Point of view.
A new era for the humanities
There’s mounting evidence that artificial sweeteners may be linked to heart disease and other possible health risks. Scientists say the findings are far from definitive, however, with some leading researchers calling for better-designed clinical trials investigating the long-term health effects of sugar substitutes.
That’s why, in separate trials, researchers are actively working to get a clearer understanding of how artificial sweeteners affect blood glucose levels, gut microbiome health and the cardiovascular system. Some studies are beginning to compare the alternatives against each other, while others hope to learn how they affect the body compared to sugar.
As it is, it’s difficult for consumers to determine which sugar alternative carries the fewest health risks. Most of the research is observational , meaning it doesn’t prove cause and effect. In some cases, researchers looked at people who ate nonsugar sweeteners, analyzed their incidence of certain health risks like heart attacks or diabetes, then noted associations between the two.
All the widely consumed alternatives such as saccharin, aspartame, sucralose, stevia, xylitol and erythritol are approved by the Food and Drug Administration. They’re found in countless products including sports drinks, energy bars, yogurts, cereals, beverages, candies, baked goods and syrups.
Even with FDA approval, Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, a cardiologist and professor of nutrition science and policy at Tufts University, said “they’re all potentially worrisome and all understudied.”
In recent research, cardiologist Dr. Stanley Hazen at the Cleveland Clinic found that the high concentrations of the sugar alcohol sweeteners xylitol and erythritol may cause the platelets in the blood to become more sticky and prone to clotting, in turn raising the risk of heart attack and stroke. The phenomenon is similar to what happens with high cholesterol, Hazen said. If they get big enough, the clots can block blood flow through crucial veins and arteries.
Some experts say that instead of trying to pinpoint the safest nonsugar sweetener, better studies need to determine whether there’s a benefit to swapping out sugar in the first place.
After publishing research finding a connection between erythritol and increased risk of heart attack and stroke , Hazen and his colleagues conducted the first head-to-head human trial comparing the effects of consuming erythritol versus sugar on the blood platelets that control clotting. The results of that study are pending publication.
Vasanti Malik, an assistant professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Toronto, meanwhile, is conducting a study of more than 500 people directly comparing the health effects of drinking sugar-sweetened beverages, noncaloric sweeteners or water. Malik and her colleagues plan to measure obesity and heart health over time.
At Virginia Tech, registered dietitian Valisa Hedrick is working with the National Institutes of Health on another study comparing the effects of four different artificial sweeteners versus sugar on blood glucose levels and gut microbiome health. The study, which focuses on people with prediabetes, is a controlled feeding trial, meaning participants only eat the meals that NIH provides them, and nothing more.
This is important, Hedrick said, because one of the growing concerns with nonsugar sweeteners is that the products trick the brain in such a way that they increase sugar cravings. People may then end up eating more sugar throughout the day, spiking their blood glucose.
With a controlled study, the researchers can answer whether the sweeteners themselves raise blood glucose directly — not the sugar people could otherwise eat later.
A research bias called reverse causation can make it difficult to draw decisive conclusions from prior studies, Malik said.
People often change their diets after they start developing diabetes or putting on weight, Malik said. These people, generally, are most likely to switch from sugar to nonsugar sweeteners. This is where the reverse causation comes into play.
“You get a spurious association between the intake of nonsugar sweeteners and the risk for diabetes,” she said. That is, the data ends up suggesting that these sweeteners are causing health problems that already existed.
Many studies also rely on people to report whether they’ve consumed nonsugar substitutes, which can be unreliable. Names like xylitol can be buried in a long list of ingredients.
Other studies, meanwhile — like Hazen’s erythritol and xylitol studies — may focus directly on what happens in the body after someone consumes one of these sweeteners, but they tend to enroll small numbers of people and track them only for a short time.
“A lot of these studies are really hard to interpret,” said Dr. Michelle Pearlman, a gastroenterologist and the CEO and co-founder of the Prime Institute in Miami. “And the problem is that there’s no head-to-head trials of people eating candy bars versus xylitol, so I can’t make any blanket statements recommending one or the other.”
Both Hedrick and Malik hope to share results from their respective studies in the next several years.
“We need experimental science alongside more rigorous observational research,” Malik said. “There are trials underway, and I think in the next five years we’ll have more clarity on the topic. We’re just not quite there.”
In a statement, the Calorie Control Council, an industry trade group representing more than two dozen sweetener manufacturers, said studies linking alternative sweeteners to health risks are based on flawed research and that the products are safe.
“It is irresponsible to amplify faulty research to those who look to alternative sweeteners to reduce overall sugar intake as well as the millions who use it as a tool to manage their health conditions, including obesity and diabetes,” Carla Saunders, the trade group’s president, said in the statement.
Most low-calorie and sugar-free foods contain at least one sugar substitute, and many contain several. These products are growing more popular, especially in the U.S. By 2033, market research suggests sugar substitutes could be worth more than $28.57 billion.
“They’re ubiquitous,” Mozafarrian said. “And they’re proliferating because people have become so obsessed with avoiding sugar.”
Mozaffarian said these sweeteners soared in popularity following changes to U.S. nutrition labeling requirements in 2016 .
The change required manufacturers to list added sugars on a separate line beneath total sugars. The idea was to help consumers differentiate between foods with naturally occurring sugars, like fruit and plain Greek yogurt, and foods that had sugars mixed in.
“Now, the food industry has a big incentive to make that ‘added sugars’ number as small as possible,” he said. “So you’re seeing these compounds in everything, and we still don’t have enough information on them.”
Some products are labeled as “artificial sweeteners” or “natural sweeteners” based on whether they’re derived from natural sources or chemically engineered.
Even natural sweeteners go through heavy chemical processing, said Dr. Maria Carolina Delgado-Lelievre, a cardiologist at the University of Miami.
For example, stevia comes from processed stevia plant extract, monk fruit sweetener comes from processing a chemical in a gourdlike fruit grown in China, and sucralose is a chemically altered version of sugar about 600 times sweeter, according to the FDA .
Aspartame and saccharin are from human-made fusions of amino acids and chemicals.
Many of these sweeteners are so potent in tiny quantities that they’re mixed with xylitol or erythritol to bulk them up and fill a packet, said the Cleveland Clinic’s Hazen.
Given this label confusion, Hedrick said researchers are increasingly using the term “nonsugar sweeteners.”
Sugar, of course, is one of the country’s most pressing public health problems. Especially in soda and juice, excess sugar fuels the ongoing obesity epidemic , contributing to heart disease, liver disease, cancer and diabetes .
However, there’s a big difference between processed, concentrated sugars like high-fructose corn syrup and the natural sugars found in fruits, Pearlman, the Miami gastroenterologist, said. Processed sugars are highly addictive.
“Anything with high-fructose corn syrup stimulates the same reward centers in our brain as cocaine and heroin,” she said. “Natural sugars from fruit act differently in the body.”
Sugar’s bad rap has much more to do with the quantity people consume than any intrinsically bad property, experts agree.
“Added sugar is nuanced,” Mozaffarian said. “When you try to take that very real nuance and turn it into a simple message, you get the industry misleading consumers that foods are ‘not good.’”
A little bit of added sugar in otherwise healthy foods, he said — such as lightly sweetened whole-grain cereals — is usually OK.
“The harms of these different nonsugar sweeteners have been greatly underemphasized and the harms of small amounts of added sugar have been overemphasized,” he argued.
The U.S. government’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that anyone over the age of 2 consume less than 10% of their daily calories from added sugar, or the equivalent of roughly 12 teaspoons of added sugar. In reality, as of 2018, people in the U.S., including children, were consuming about 17 teaspoons of added sugar per day, on average.
Recently, the U.S. Department of Agriculture implemented a new rule limiting added sugars in public school lunches . Michael Goran, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine, said he worries that schools will replace sugary foods with artificially sweetened foods to comply with the new rules.
“There’s this general perception that these sweeteners are safe alternatives, but if they’re broadly applied to children, I unfortunately think that’s very risky,” he said.
Mozaffarian said that at their current levels of added sugar, most yogurts would no longer be allowed in school lunches once the new rule goes into effect.
“They’re just above the new limit, so it’s likely these yogurts are now going to be made with a series of sweeteners with uncertain health effects,” Mozaffarian said.
In the meantime, Pearlman said, it’s easy to see they haven’t helped the population become healthier on the whole.
“We have more chronic disease, more diabetes today than we’ve ever had before,” she said. “That shows that despite the diet industry being worth billions of dollars, we’re clearly missing the ball.”
A confusing body of limited research, coupled with the lack of clarity on food labels, puts consumers in a tough position when it comes to selecting the healthiest choices, the experts concluded.
All agreed on the best solution:
“If I had the choice of eating a store-bought cookie with a lot of sweeteners in it, a store-bought cookie with monk fruit, or a homemade cookie with sugar, I would choose the homemade cookie,” Goran said. “You can still enjoy the cookie, but maybe put a little less sugar in there.”
NBC News contributor Caroline Hopkins is a health and science journalist who covers cancer treatment for Precision Oncology News. She is a graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
Pain can cause high blood pressure due to what's called the baroreceptor reflex of your nervous system . This reflex tells the body to constrict blood flow, which increases blood pressure.
Since both acute and chronic pain lead to an involuntary response from the nervous system, the brain will automatically sense pain and work to stop it from harming the body. Blood pressure changes will continue until the pain is no longer detected, when blood vessels relax and blood pressure returns to normal levels.
This article discusses why pain can cause high blood pressure. It will help you to know what symptoms to watch for and how hypertension can be managed with lifestyle changes, like smoking cessation or stress management, as well as medication.
FluxFactory / Getty Images
Acute pain is pain that comes on quickly out of nowhere. Some of the sudden causes of acute pain include:
Researchers have found a relationship between sensitivity to acute pain and resting blood pressure. If you're generally healthy but have a high resting blood pressure, you're unlikely to feel sudden pain. Blood pressure should return to normal levels rather quickly when it's related to this type of pain.
Acute pain that does not go away will become chronic . It can last weeks, months, or even years. This type of pain may be associated with:
Chronic pain such as the type related to muscle conditions, neuropathy, and migraines has been shown to cause a persistent elevation in blood pressure with a decrease in sensitivity to the pain over time.
When pain is chronic, the nervous system is always working to try to fix it. Over time the nervous system will lose its ability to regulate blood pressure. This is why high blood pressure is often associated with chronic pain.
Symptoms that may occur with pain and high blood pressure include the following:
A pounding sensation in the neck, chest, or ears also may be a sign of high blood pressure.
High blood pressure pain may be managed with or without medications.
There are quite a few lifestyle changes you can make in order to better manage pain and high blood pressure. These changes include:
Your healthcare provider may also prescribe medications to lower blood pressure. They will often take into account any other existing health conditions like diabetes , heart disease , or kidney issues. Medications that manage blood pressure include the following:
Other factors also may affect blood flow and blood pressure. The following can raise blood pressure:
Pain is a response from the involuntary nervous system used to protect the body from harm. No matter what type of pain occurs, the nervous system uses the same mechanisms to relieve it. As a result, there is a rise in blood pressure.
In acute pain, blood pressure elevations are quickly returned to normal. On the other hand, when chronic pain occurs, there are continuous elevations that weaken the body's ability to normalize blood pressure. This can lead to more pain, hypertension, and the risk of heart disease.
High blood pressure can be noted by various symptoms but sometimes people experience no symptoms at all. The only way to know if your blood pressure is high is to have it checked, so that you can take steps to manage pain and high blood pressure through lifestyle changes and medication.
Everyone’s experience with pain is different. If you find yourself with chronic pain, you may also have high blood pressure. Learning to manage your pain-related high blood pressure is important to prevent any other further health complications. Talk to your healthcare provider to find out what you can do to lower blood pressure.
Saccò M, Meschi M, Regolisti G, et al. The relationship between blood pressure and pain . J Clin Hypertens . 2013;15(8):600-605. doi:10.1111/jch.12145
Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG). How does the nervous system work ?
de la Coba P, Bruehl S, Garber J, Smith CA, Walker LS. Is Resolution of Chronic Pain Associated With Changes in Blood Pressure-related Hypoalgesia? . Ann Behav Med . 2018;52(7):552-559. doi:10.1093/abm/kax021
Rivasi G, Menale S, Turrin G, Coscarelli A, Giordano A, Ungar A. The Effects of Pain and Analgesic Medications on Blood Pressure . Curr Hypertens Rep . 2022;24(10):385-394. doi:10.1007/s11906-022-01205-5
World Health Organization. Hypertension .
National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Institute of Neurological Disorders. Pain .
NHS. Causes of high blood pressure (hypertension) .
National Institute of Health (NIH) National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. High blood pressure .
Cevik C, Işeri SO. The effect of acupuncture on high blood pressure of patients using antihypertensive drugs . Acupunct Electrother Res . 2013;38(1-2):1-15. doi:10.3727/036012913x13831831849448
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About high blood pressure .
Gordon AM, Mendes WB. A large-scale study of stress, emotions, and blood pressure in daily life using a digital platform . Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A . 2021;118(31). doi:10.1073/pnas.2105573118
Edmondson D, Arndt J, Alcántara C, Chaplin W, Schwartz JE. Self-esteem and the acute effect of anxiety on ambulatory blood pressure . Psychosom Med . 2015;77(7):833-841. doi:10.1097/PSY.0000000000000219
Watso JC, Farquhar WB. Hydration status and cardiovascular function . Nutrients . 2019;11(8). doi:10.3390/nu11081866
By Jeanette Kimszal, RDN Kimszal is a registered dietitian nutritionist, freelance writer, and podcaster based in the New York metropolitan area.
Don't miss out
Subscribe to STAT+ today, for the best life sciences journalism in the industry
By Elaine Chen Aug. 7, 2024
Want to stay on top of the science and politics driving biotech today? Sign up to get our biotech newsletter in your inbox.
Good morning. We recap another slew of earnings reported this morning and last night. Let’s get straight into it.
advertisement
An underwhelming earnings report and ongoing questions about increasing competition in the booming obesity medicine field sent Novo Nordisk’s shares down today, as the company sought to project its ability to reach more patients by increasing supplies of its GLP-1 drugs.
STAT+ Exclusive Story
Already have an account? Log in
Unlock this article — plus in-depth analysis, newsletters, premium events, and networking platform access..
Totals $468 per year
for 3 months, then $39/month
Then $39/month
Savings start at 25%!
Annually per user
$300 Annually per user
Get unlimited access to award-winning journalism and exclusive events.
Elaine chen.
National Biotech Reporter
Elaine Chen covers biotech and co-writes the The Readout newsletter.
biotechnology
drug development
Drug prices
STAT encourages you to share your voice. We welcome your commentary, criticism, and expertise on our subscriber-only platform, STAT+ Connect
To submit a correction request, please visit our Contact Us page .
IMAGES
COMMENTS
Here, we'll explore a variety of healthcare-related research ideas and topic thought-starters across a range of healthcare fields, including allopathic and alternative medicine, dentistry, physical therapy, optometry, pharmacology and public health. NB - This is just the start….
These issues result in health disparities and injustices. Examples of research topics about health inequities include: The impact of social determinants of health in a set population. Early and late-stage cancer stage diagnosis in urban vs. rural populations. Affordability of life-saving medications.
Research questions about anxiety and depression. Anxiety and depression are two of the most commonly spoken about mental health conditions. You might assume that research about these conditions has already been exhausted or that it's no longer in demand. That's not the case at all. According to a 2022 survey by Centers for Disease Control ...
151+ Public Health Research Topics [Updated 2024] The important area of public health research is essential to forming laws, influencing medical procedures, and eventually enhancing community well-being. As we delve into the vast landscape of public health research topics, it's essential to understand the profound impact they have on society.
The process of formulating a good research question can be challenging and frustrating. While a comprehensive literature review is compulsory, the researcher usually encounters methodological difficulties in the conduct of the study, particularly if the primary study question has not been adequately selected in accordance with the clinical dilemma that needs to be addressed.
Additionally, we will outline the crucial elements that every health-related research paper should incorporate. Furthermore, we've compiled a comprehensive list of 300+ health-related research topics for medical students in 2023. These include categories like mental health, public health, nutrition, chronic diseases, healthcare policy, and more.
If you're still unsure about how to find a quality research topic, check out our Research Topic Kickstarter service, which is the perfect starting point for developing a unique, well-justified research topic. A comprehensive list of public health-related research topics. Includes free access to a webinar and research topic evaluator.
The Fogarty International Center and its NIH partners invest in research on a variety of topics vital to global health. For each of these global health research topics, find an in-depth collection of news, resources and funding from Fogarty, the NIH, other U.S. government agencies, nongovernmental organizations and others. Bioethics.
Step 3: Explore Study Design Formats. The next step is selecting the study format you want to use to gather your data. "People often ask me what the best study design is to use for their work. But there is no one right answer," Robertson says. "We tend to think randomized clinical trials have the highest level of evidence.
Identifying and prioritizing key research questions is necessary for the rapid development of successful diagnostics, therapeutics, and public health interventions in the fight against COVID-19. The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) has compiled a comprehensive list of COVID-19 clinical trial and research
Research. Strategy and Development; Implementation and Impact; Integrity and Oversight; Practice. In the School; ... Topics. Our topic pages offer a one-stop-shop for insights, experts, and offerings by areas of interest. ... Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health 615 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205. Footer social. LinkedIn ...
Generating Good Research Questions in Health Professions Education Dine, C. Jessica MD, MSHP ; Shea, Judy A. PhD ; Kogan, Jennifer R. MD Academic Medicine: December 2016 - Volume 91 - Issue 12 - p e8
A "foreground" question in health research is one that is relatively specific, and is usually best addressed by locating primary research evidence. Using a structured question framework can help you clearly define the concepts or variables that make up the specific research question. Across most frameworks, you'll often be considering:
Medical research topics are the ideas or concepts related to health and medicine. They often explore new treatments, developments in diagnosis, prevention of illnesses, or even the effects of lifestyle choices. The scope of topics in medicine is vast and can include such aspects: Clinical medicine. Biomedical research.
Heath psychology topics can look at a range of issues related to health, illness, and healthcare. It may include such things as eating disorders, weight management, diet, exercise, stress coping, women's health, and more. Health psychology, also known as medical psychology or behavioral medicine, focuses on how biology, psychology, behavior ...
40 Health & Healthcare Research Paper Topics. The paper on Health Research can cover everything: from healthy lifestyle, to child care, to rehabilitation after traumas. Humanity invents lots of ways to live longer and healthier, so you have thousands of choices for health research topics. Still, because there are so many ideas to improve one ...
Here are a few ideas to get you started. The impact of genetics on the susceptibility to depression. Efficacy of antidepressants vs. cognitive behavioural therapy. The role of gut microbiota in mood regulation. Cultural variations in the experience and diagnosis of bipolar disorder.
Good examples of public health efforts include preventing outbreaks, educating the public on health choices, promoting fitness, preparing for emergencies, and avoiding the spread of infectious diseases. Public health ... Public Health Research Questions. Is the high cost of medical healthcare in the United States justified?
Examples of research questions: Does improved nutrition in children impact academic achievement? ... Factors to consider when formulating a research question: What is the health issue (is it looking at the prevention of a health condition, is it about the treatment of a health condition, etc.?)
Feasible - Writing a feasible research question means that it CAN be answered under objective aspects like time, scope, resources, expertise, or funding. Good questions must be amenable to the formulation of clear hypotheses. Interesting - The question or topic should be of interest to the researcher and the outside world. It should have a ...
Examples of some general health services research questions are: Does the organization of renal transplant nurse coordinators' responsibilities influence live donor rates? What activities of nurse managers are associated with nurse turnover? 30 day readmission rates? What effect does the Nurse Faculty Loan program have on the nurse researcher ...
Cognitive psychology is the branch that focuses on the interactions of thinking, emotion, creativity, and problem-solving. It also explores the reasons humans think the way they do. This topic involves exploring how people think by measuring intelligence, thoughts, and cognition. Here are some research question ideas: 6.
Conduct disorder among children. Role of therapy in behavioural disorders. Eating and drinking habits and mental health. Addictive behaviour patterns for teenagers in high school. Discuss mental implications of gambling and sex addiction. Impact of maladaptive behaviours on the society. Extreme mood changes.
Key points. Scientists and clinicians have long debated about the health benefits conferred by alcohol use. A worldwide study sheds light on the relationship between drinking and chronic diseases.
In general, research on the effects of the most used COVID-19 vaccines in the United States suggests the vaccines lower the risk of complications such as blood clots or other types of damage to the heart. If you have concerns, your healthcare professional can help you review the risks and benefits based on your health condition.
Kruk is a professor of health systems at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and director of the QuEST Centers and Network, a multicountry research consortium generating evidence to build high-quality health systems. Her research focuses on how health systems can produce better outcomes for people living in low- and middle-income ...
There's mounting evidence that artificial sweeteners may be linked to heart disease and other possible health risks. Scientists say that may be the wrong question. IE 11 is not supported.
4. Tell me about your research. What was your role? Do you see research playing a significant role in your later professional career? 5. Describe a time you worked with a difficult person. 6. Considering you and other applicants have similar grades, test-scores, etc., please describe what additional skills set you apart from the rest?
Eat a healthy diet: Eat more vegetables, fruits, whole grains, low-fat dairy, fish, poultry, beans, nuts, and vegetable oils.Reduce sodium, sugar, saturated, and trans fats (often found in fried and processed foods) in your diet. Limit or avoid alcohol: Even just one or two drinks a day can increase blood pressure.Talk to your healthcare provider about how much alcohol you can safely consume.
Amgen fielded a slew of questions about MariTide on the call, on topics such as the drug's performance on measures of cardiovascular health like lipids and blood pressure, potential muscle loss ...