“Assessing Causality
The article under review is Applying Bradford Hills Criteria for Causation to Neuropsychiatry: Challenges and Opportunities which was published in The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences. This review has made extensive use of Hills guidelines in hypothesizing causality based on the assessment of the literature on Neuropsychiatry. This review demonstrates the potential value of using rigorous criteria to the formation of the contentions of causation in Neuropsychiatry. It also demonstrates the various challenges associated with the contentions of causation.
This article makes reference to various aspects of the Hills guidelines although some of them prove to be problematic in their implementation during the assessment. This review strengthens and facilitates the use of the Hills guidelines and criteria in Neuropsychiatry. Hills criteria allow the researcher to be critical of the strengths and the barriers of causation arguments. This also facilitates the potential upgrading of research development and methodology in researches of causation within Neuropsychiatry (Van-Reekum Streiner & Conn 2001).
It is evident that some of the Bradford Hills guidelines seem to be significantly relevant or practicable to be utilized in Neuropsychiatry rather than others. Illustration of a correlation between the causative instrument and the outcome a biologic rationale the relevant temporal sequence and the regularity of the findings are all prerequisite criteria that are reasonable to achieve (Aschengrau & Seage 2008). Despite being relevant they may be flanked by potential difficulties in the execution. It is noted that biological gradient specify criteria analogous evidence and coherence may not be appropriate for Neuropsychiatry. However where they can be illustrated they will increase the contention for causation. Where experimental evidence is available it is exceptionally compelling but is restricted by ethical issues. Despite some of these guidelines having their own limitations their systematic application will probably lead to an immense rigor as compared to non-systematic contentions of causation (Van-Reekum Streiner & Conn 2001).
This article has highlighted the purpose for rigorous criteria to determine causation in Neuropsychiatry. However it fails to address the procedure for determining an argument of causation. What eventually convinces the researcher that factor X also causes outcome Y? Ultimately the researcher has to make that decision based on the researchers reevaluation of the evidence. Nevertheless individuals appreciate the perspectives taken by others most notably from experts. Notably it is only when there is an agreement between the experts that humans will now accept an argument of causation. However caution should be taken as experts are also human and may be biased to some aspects. The aspect of bias is most evident in a court of law. Here legal experts from the different sides argue with great enthusiasm and usually from the same combination of evidence as to whether a certain laceration in the brain can be attributed to a given characteristic of behavior. Knowledge of the criteria for developing arguments about causation as well as research strategies with their strengths and limitations used to tackle these criteria minimizes the risk of being disoriented by the knowledge of other experts (Van-Reekum Streiner & Conn 2001).
Despite of this argument many scholars practicing epidemiology hold that biological plausibility is a significant consideration when determining the nature of a correlation. A good example is a study carried out on hospitalized cardiac patients in which one half was prayed for by Christian volunteers participating in the study. In this study the patients who were prayed for had fewer heart attacks and rarely contracted pneumonia than those who did not receive prayers. Many epidemiologists do not subscribe to this due to the lack of a biological framework to justify it.”

  

Click Order Now to get 100% Original Answer Customized to your instructions!