Proposal Approach Section:

Research Question:

Has the use of dietary zinc supplements increased due to Corona Virus (covid 19) pandemic?

Hypothesis:

Null Hypothesis:

Ho: Mean use of Dietary Zinc supplements has not increased due to COVID-19 pandemic

Ho: μ1 = μ2

Alternative Hypothesis

HA: Mean use of Dietary Zinc supplements has not increased due to COVID-19 pandemic

HA: μ1 ≠ μ2

Settings:

A quantitative research setting will be utilized in the current study. In the qualitative research setting, an online survey questionnaire will be distributed through an online setting.

Population:

The population of the United States will be utilized in the current study. The population will include adults above the age of 18 from both male and female gender will be used for the study.

Samples:

In the current study, a total of 200 samples will be collected for the study. A cross-sectional study will be conducted in the form of a survey for the period of two months of 2021.

Recruitment:

The current study will be first approved by the ethical committee of the university. A survey questionnaire will be formed to analyze either zinc consumption has increased or not. Consent of the participants will be taken into consideration prior to filling the electronically distributed questionnaire. In the first part of the questionnaire, participants will be asked simple demographic questions like age, gender, education, etc., after those questions will be based on the research objectives. The distribution will be done on different social media platforms, like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, etc. In the questionnaire, all the objectives, volunteer participation, study procedures will be informed prior to filling out the questionnaire. The anonymous nature of the participants will be maintained throughout the study.

Study Design: Describe a study design.

This will be a prospective cohort study consisting of analytic observations characterizing the association with the emergence of the covid 19 pandemic with increased zinc dietary supplement intake by the population to combat the virus and build immunity. This cohort study will take place over time in which samples will be taken from the population/group of participants and the participants will be followed up with. As stated in book designing clinical research, this type of study has strengths and weaknesses. One of the major strengths is that this study design enables calculations incidence. On the other hand, challenges include difficulties interpreting the many variables (Hulley et al., 2013).

In this case, participant selection criteria will be defined and a sample on the population will be recruited to form the cohort. Once the population sample size has been selected variables such as the predictor and baseline outcome variable will be measured initially. Lastly, the cohort will be followed up with multiple times over a specific time frame where outcome variables are measured and recorded. Overall, as the sample size is followed up with outcomes are measured as they occur. Evidently this is an observational study with the primary purpose of determining the relationship between increased intake of zinc dietary supplement with strengthened immunity to Covid-19.

Define variables and propose measurements.

With the COVID pandemic, all individuals tried many things to keep themselves safe and not expose themselves to COVID. Using vitamins became very popular during the pandemic especially with those that have immune compromised conditions. One of the popular and not so much used before vitamins was vitamin Zinc. Even with little bit of knowledge on COVID, Zinc started to become more appealing, and doctors started to recommend their patients to take it. Even with those patients that are COVID positive to take Zinc to reduce their symptoms. In an article I found it states “The data about oral ascorbic acid and zinc are inconsistent, with some trials suggesting that high doses of ascorbic acid and zinc gluconate may reduce the duration of common cold symptoms and decrease the severity of symptoms, while other studies have shown no benefit” (Suma Thomas, et al., 2021). With this information patients started to rethink the use of Zinc and started to look for other solutions. Other measurements that patients tried to take is the use of vitamin D in addition to Zinc. With this high demand of Zinc and Vitamin D, retail stores started to see a high demand of those supplements and started to put limitations on them. Some patients reached out to their primary care physicians to see about getting a prescription for both vitamins to be send to the pharmacy to avoid having to pay for them; since they could not either find the over-the-counter vitamin or could not afford the over-the-counter vitamin and would like to have their insurance cover it.

Describe the analytical approach.

The cohort will be analyzed by deciphering the results of the method used for data collection, which will most likely be in the form of a survey. We will utilize software such as Microsoft Excel and other avenues to analyze the data that was acquired and sort it into charts, tables and figures that are easy to understand and decipher. Here is a breakdown of the analytical approach:

Demographics Section

         Participants will self-report information about their age, race/ethnicity, sex, educational background, marital status, county, and occupational background.

Prior Zinc Supplement Use Section

         Participants will be asked about their Zinc dietary supplement usage history prior to COVID-19.

Current Dietary Supplement Use Section

                     Participants will be asked about their current Zinc dietary supplement usage in regard to COVID-19.

Patient Education and Symptomatic Section

         Participants will be asked if they believe that taking Zinc dietary supplements can actually help reduce the risk of getting, or help to treat COVID-19, in which they will answer either “yes” or “no. Participants will also be asked if they’ve suffered from any symptoms of upper-respiratory infections in the last two months. This question is included to divulge if presented symptoms prompted the individual to utilize or not utilize dietary supplements.

Results

         Resulting data will be analyzed and displayed utilizing statistical software such as Microsoft Excel and will incorporate usage of demographics (descriptive statistics), chi square and correlational analysis.

Limitations

         There are a couple limitations to this study. The first limitation is that due to the fact that no compensation will be offered to the participant in completion of the survey, although it is relatively quick to complete, individuals might not partake in it because no compensation is rewarded, which could hinder the overall participant numbers. The second limitation is that individuals who access the survey via the in-person route, will have to have a smartphone (ex. Apple© or Android©) to be able to use their phone camera to scan the QR code and access the survey.

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