Modeling contextual effects using individual-level data and without aggregation: an illustration of multilevel factor analysis (MLFA) with collective efficacy
Population health scientists increasingly study how contextual-level attributes affect individual health. A major challenge in this domain relates to measurement, i.e., how best to measure and create variables that capture characteristics of individuals and their embedded contexts. This paper presents an illustration of multilevel factor analysis (MLFA), an analytic method that enables researchers to model contextual effects using individual-level data without using derived variables. MLFA uses the shared variance in sets of observed items among individuals within the same context to estimate a measurement model for latent...
Source: Population Health Metrics - May 10, 2015 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Erin DunnKatherine MasynWilliam JohnstonSV Subramanian Source Type: research
The County Health Rankings: rationale and methods
DiscussionThe County Health Rankings can be used to clearly demonstrate differences in health by place, raise awareness of the many factors that influence health, and stimulate community health improvement efforts. The Rankings draws upon the human instinct to compete by facilitating comparisons between neighboring or peer counties within states. Since no population health model, or rankings based off such models, will ever perfectly describe the health of its population, we encourage users to look to local sources of data to understand more about the health of their community. (Source: Population Health Metrics)
Source: Population Health Metrics - April 17, 2015 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Patrick RemingtonBridget CatlinKeith Gennuso Source Type: research
Assessing disability weights based on the responses of 30,660 people from four European countries
Conclusions:
PC assessments of health outcomes in this study resulted in estimates that were highly correlated across four European countries. Assessment of the feasibility of rescaling based on a discrete choice formulation of the PHE question indicated that this approach may not be suitable for use in a web-based survey of the general population. (Source: Population Health Metrics)
Source: Population Health Metrics - April 3, 2015 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Juanita HaagsmaCharline Maertens de NoordhoutSuzanne PolinderTheo VosArie HavelaarAlessandro CassiniBrecht DevleesschauwerMirjam KretzschmarNiko SpeybroeckJoshua Salomon Source Type: research
Effects of a health information system data quality intervention on concordance in Mozambique: time-series analyses from 2009–2012
Conclusions:
A data quality intervention was associated with significant improvements in health information system data concordance across public-sector health facilities in rural and urban Mozambique. Concordance was higher at those facilities with more human resources for health and was associated with fewer clinic-level stock-outs of essential medicines. Increased investments should be made in data audit and feedback activities alongside targeted efforts to improve HIS data in low- and middle-income countries. (Source: Population Health Metrics)
Source: Population Health Metrics - March 26, 2015 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Bradley WagenaarSarah GimbelRoxanne HoekJames PfeifferCathy MichelJoão ManuelFatima CuembeloTitos QuemboPires AfonsoVictoria PorthéStephen GloydKenneth Sherr Source Type: research
Erosion of the healthy soldier effect in veterans of US military service in Iraq and Afghanistan
Conclusions:
No support was found for the HSE among US veterans of OEF/OIF/OND. These findings may be attributable to a number of factors including post-deployment risk-taking behavior, an abbreviated follow up period, and the nature of the OEF/OIF/OND conflict. (Source: Population Health Metrics)
Source: Population Health Metrics - March 18, 2015 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Mary BollingerSusanne SchmidtJacqueline PughHelen ParsonsLaurel CopelandMary Pugh Source Type: research
Multiple biomarker models for improved risk estimation of specific cardiovascular diseases related to metabolic syndrome: a cross-sectional study
Conclusion:
The reduced joint association modeling results suggest that unique combinations of biomarkers with their related measure of association can be used to produce more accurate cumulative risk estimates for each CVD. Additionally, our results indicate that the use of multiple biomarkers in a single multivariate model may provide increased accuracy of individual biomarker association estimates by controlling for statistical artifacts and spurious relationships due to co-biomarker confounding. (Source: Population Health Metrics)
Source: Population Health Metrics - March 14, 2015 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Evan CoffmanJennifer Richmond-Bryant Source Type: research
Family structure and multiple domains of child well-being in the United States: a cross-sectional study
Conclusions:
All non-married couple family structures are associated with some adverse outcomes among children, but the degree of disadvantage varies across family structures. Efforts to understand and improve child well-being might be most effective if they recognize the increasing diversity in children’s living arrangements. (Source: Population Health Metrics)
Source: Population Health Metrics - February 21, 2015 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Patrick KruegerDouglas JutteLuisa FranziniIrma EloMark Hayward Source Type: research
Improving the estimation of the burden of risk factors: an illustrative comparison of methods to measure smoking-attributable mortality
Conclusions:
The multivariable algorithms presented have several advantages, including: controlling for confounders, accounting for complexities in the relationship between multiple exposures and covariates, using consistent definitions of exposure, and using specific measures of risk derived internally from the study population. We propose the wider use of multivariable risk assessment approach as an alternative to population-attributable fraction methods. (Source: Population Health Metrics)
Source: Population Health Metrics - February 19, 2015 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Peter TanuseputroRichard PerezLaura RosellaKumanan WilsonCarol BennettMeltem TunaDeirdre HennessyHeather MansonDouglas Manuel Source Type: research
Salud Mesoamérica 2015 Initiative: design, implementation, and baseline findings
Conclusions:
These data provide a baseline of much-needed information for evidence-based action on health throughout Mesoamerica. Our baseline estimates reflect large disparities in health indicators within and between countries and will facilitate the evaluation of interventions and investments deployed in the region over the next three to five years. SM2015’s innovative monitoring and evaluation framework will allow health officials with limited resources to identify and target areas of greatest need. (Source: Population Health Metrics)
Source: Population Health Metrics - February 7, 2015 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Ali MokdadKatherine ColsonPaola Zúñiga-BrenesDiego Ríos-ZertucheErin PalmisanoEyleen Alfaro-PorrasBrent AndersonMarco BorgoSima DesaiMarielle GagnierCatherine GillespieSandra GironAnnie HaakenstadSonia RomeroJulio MateusAbigail McKayAli MokdadTasha Mur Source Type: research
Mapping malaria risk and vulnerability in the United Republic of Tanzania: a spatial explicit model
Conclusions:
The presented approach makes an important contribution toward a decision support tool. By decomposing malaria risk into its components, the approach offers evidence on which factors could be targeted for reducing malaria risk and vulnerability to the disease. Ultimately, results offer relevant information for place-based intervention planning and more effective spatial allocation of resources. (Source: Population Health Metrics)
Source: Population Health Metrics - February 3, 2015 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Michael HagenlocherMarcia Castro Source Type: research
Abdominal vs. overall obesity among women in a nutrition transition context: geographic and socio-economic patterns of abdominal-only obesity in Tunisia
Conclusion:
Measures of abdominal adiposity need to be included in population-level appraisals of the burden of obesity, especially among women in the MENA region. The causes of the highly prevalent abdominal-only obesity status among women require further investigation. (Source: Population Health Metrics)
Source: Population Health Metrics - January 24, 2015 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Pierre TraissacRebecca PradeillesJalila El AtiHajer Aounallah-SkhiriSabrina Eymard-DuvernayAgnès GartnerChiraz BéjiSouha BougatefYves Martin-PrévelPatrick KolsterenFrancis DelpeuchHabiba Ben RomdhaneBernard MairePierre Traissac Source Type: research
The increase in cancer prevalence and hospital burden in Western Australia, 1992¿2011
Conclusions:
The prevalence of cancer and the burden it places on hospitals continues to rise, demanding ongoing efforts to prevent cancer through modifiable risk factors and better, more efficient use of health resources. Steps should to be taken to understand and address overdiagnosis and overtreatment. (Source: Population Health Metrics)
Source: Population Health Metrics - December 19, 2014 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Susannah MaxwellPeter O¿LearyTerry SlevinRachael Moorin Source Type: research
A methodological framework for the improved use of routine health system data to evaluate national malaria control programs: evidence from Zambia
Conclusions:
When improved through comprehensive parasitologically confirmed case reporting, HMIS data can become a valuable tool for evaluating malaria program scale-up. Using this approach we provide further evidence that increased ITN coverage is associated with decreased malaria morbidity and use of health services for malaria illness in Zambia. These methods and results are broadly relevant for malaria program evaluations currently ongoing in sub-Saharan Africa, especially as routine confirmed case data improve. (Source: Population Health Metrics)
Source: Population Health Metrics - November 19, 2014 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Adam BennettJoshua YukichJohn MillerPenelope VounatsouBusiku HamainzaMercy IngweHawela MoongaMulakwo KamuliwoJoseph KeatingThomas SmithRichard SteketeeThomas Eisele Source Type: research
Ten-year trends in major lifestyle risk factors using an ongoing population surveillance system in Australia
Conclusions:
Public health efforts in increasing the proportion of the population undertaking appropriate risk factor behavior are showing signs of success, with data from 2004 to 2013 showing encouraging trends. Deriving comparable trends over time by key demographics and SES variables provides evidence for policymakers and health planners to encourage interventions aimed at preventing chronic disease. (Source: Population Health Metrics)
Source: Population Health Metrics - October 30, 2014 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Anne TaylorEleonora Dal GrandeJing WuZumin ShiStefano Campostrini Source Type: research
Towards a subsiding diabetes epidemic: trends from a large population-based study in Israel
This study analyzed trends in mortality and screening that contribute to diabetes prevalence and incidence, distinguishing between new incident cases and newly detected cases.
Methods:
In an integrated provider-and-payer-system covering 53% of Israel?s population, a composite diabetes case-finding algorithm was built using diagnoses, lab tests, and antidiabetic medication purchases from the organization?s electronic medical record database. Data were extracted on adult members aged 26+ each year from January 1, 2004 through December 31, 2012. Rates of diabetes prevalence, incidence, screening, and mortality were reported, ...
Source: Population Health Metrics - October 30, 2014 Category: Epidemiology Authors: Tomas KarpatiChandra Cohen-StaviMorton LeibowitzMoshe HoshenBecca FeldmanRan Balicer Source Type: research
