What is the Experimental Event Rate and Why Should You Care?
The Experimental Event Rate (EER) is the proportion of individuals who, after being exposed to a specific factor, end up experiencing a particular event like getting sick.
This metric is crucial for medical research and public health, helping professionals understand risk and efficacy of treatments. It's also useful in environmental science for assessing pollutant impacts and in marketing for measuring campaign responses.
How to Calculate Experimental Event Rate
Formula
[\text{EER} = \frac{\text{Total Sick and Exposed}}{\text{Total Sick and Exposed} + \text{Total Well and Exposed}}]
Where:
- Total Sick and Exposed is the number of individuals who got sick after being exposed
- Total Well and Exposed is the number of individuals who remained well after being exposed
Calculation Example
Study findings:
- Total Sick and Exposed: 45
- Total Well and Exposed: 155
Calculation:
[\text{EER} = \frac{45}{45 + 155} = \frac{45}{200} = 0.225]
The Experimental Event Rate is 0.225, or 22.5%. This means 22.5% of the exposed population ended up getting sick.
Applications
- Medical Research: Assess disease risk and treatment effectiveness
- Public Health: Guide policy-making and resource allocation
- Environmental Science: Measure pollutant exposure impacts
- Marketing: Measure advertising campaign response rates