Statistical Calendar for 2012
Graduate Students in Italy have produced a Statistical Calendar for 2012. Download it here ~~ http://cal.stat.unipd.it/eng/downloads/statisticalCalendar.pdf.
Donna F. Stroup recognized for excellence in data analysis
See Press release at: http://www.24-7pressrelease.com/press-release/dr-donna-f-stroup-recognized-by-cambridge-whos-who-for-excellence-in-data-analysis-243173.php
Interpreting Science
Every day there are news reports of new health advice, but how can you know if they’re right? Doctor and epidemiologist Ben Goldacre shows us ways evidence can be distorted, from obvious nutrition claims to subtle tricks of the pharmaceutical industry. View this 15 minute video at:
http://www.ted.com/talks/ben_goldacre_battling_bad_science.html?utm_source=newsletter_weekly_2011-10-04&utm_campaign=newsletter_weekly&utm_medium=email
An important documentation of the history of statistical methods in public health appears this week. Check out the CDC Supplement appearing this week: www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/ind2011_su.html
Donna F. Stroup, Director, Data for Solutions, Inc. Recognized by Cambridge Who’s Who for Excellence in Data Analysis
Donna F. Stroup, Director and Owner of Data for Solutions, Inc. has been recognized by Cambridge Who’s Who for showing dedication, leadership, and excellence in data analysis. Dr. Stroup has accrued 30 years of professional experience, including tenure as owner of Data for Solutions, Inc. for the past five years. She specializes in providing skilled data analysis for complex problems through conventional and innovative research methodologies. Her work with international organizations, academic institutions, and health care organizations has impacted communities around the world. She is the author of more than 200 articles, 25 book chapters, and five books. A graduate of Princeton University, Dr. Stroup earned the PhD in Statistics and went on to receive a Master of Science in Community Medicine from the University of Cambridge, England. In addition, Dr. Stroup holds an advanced certificate from the Public Health Leadership Institute. Her many professional distinctions include being elected Fellow of the American Statistical Association, elected as a member of the American Epidemiological Society, and designated as an honorary member of the Epidemic Intelligence Service.
New Movie “Contagion”
Check out this review from the NY Times of the movie “Contagion” ~~ http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/13/science/13view.html?emc=eta1
New Publication: Ethical Issues for Childhood Obesity
Data for Solutions has recently led the development of a series of publications on ethical issues for childhood obesity. The research comes at an opportune time, as organizations and partners from multiple sectors are engaged in reversing the epidemic of childhood obesity. The new federal health reform law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, has the potential to address the obesity epidemic through substantial prevention and wellness provisions, expand coverage to millions of uninsured US residents, and create a reliable funding stream through the creation of the Prevention and Public Health Fund. President Barack Obama created a White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity, which issued a new national obesity prevention strategy that includes concrete measures and roles for every federal government agency. First Lady Michelle Obama launched the Let’s Move! initiative to solve the challenge of childhood obesity within a generation. Twenty states and the District of Columbia set nutritional standards that are stricter than the US Department of Agriculture requirements. Five years ago, only 4 states had legislation requiring stricter standards. Twenty-eight states and the District of Columbia have nutritional standards for competitive foods sold at schools in à la carte lines, vending machines, school stores, or through school baking sales. Every state has a form of physical education requirement for schools, but these requirements are often limited, are not enforced, or do not meet adequate quality standards. According to RWJF Senior Vice President James S. Marks, Americans are ready for bold action. The articles in this collection will contribute to the evidence base for policy debates and to identifying gaps that must be addressed to ensure that the most promising efforts are replicated throughout the nation. See the complete collection at http://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2011/sep/toc.htm.
Data for Solutions Publishes New Methodolgy for Public Health: Network Scale-up Methods for Estimating Population Size
Estimating sizes of hidden or hard-to-reach populations is an important problem in public health. For example, estimates of the sizes of populations at highest risk for HIV and AIDS are needed for designing, evaluating and allocating funding for treatment and prevention programmes. A promising approach to size estimation, relatively new to public health, is the network scale-up method (NSUM), involving two steps: estimating the personal network size of the members of a random sample of a total population and, with this information, estimating the number of members of a hidden subpopulation of the total population. In a recent publication in Sexually Transmitted Infections (http://sti.bmj.com/content/86/Suppl_2/ii11.full.html), we describe the method, including two approaches to estimating personal network sizes (summation and known population). We discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each approach and provide examples of international applications of the NSUM in public health. We conclude with recommendations for future research and evaluation.
Outcome Reporting Bias in Clinical Trials
Recent research by scholars in the UK shows that outcome reporting bias in clinical trials in high and trialists seem unaware of the implications for the evidence based. See the full article: Smyth RMD, Kirkhaj JJ, Jacoby A, Altman DG, Gamble C, Williamson PR. Frequency and reasons for outcome reporting bias in clinical trials: interviews with trialists . BMJ 2010;341:c7153. Or contact us (Click on Data for Solutions, Inc. above) and we will send you a copy.
Trials in a Vacuum: Study of Studies Shows Few Citations
Researchers, Karen A. Robinson and Dr. Steven N. Goodman, looked at how often published papers on clinical trials in medicine cite previous clinical trials addressing the same question. They report in the in the Jan. 4 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine what Dr. Goodman describes as “a rather shocking result.” He summarizes: “No matter how many randomized clinical trials have been done on a particular topic, about half the clinical trials cite none or only one of them.”
The situation can have serious consequences for patients, said Sir Iain Chalmers, editor of the James Lind Library, which is a source of information on appropriate tests of medical treatments. He said some patients have suffered severe side effects and even died in studies because researchers were not aware of previous studies documenting a treatment’s dangers. “That’s the tragedy,” he said. “Not only is it unscientific, it is unethical.”
Dr. Goodman said their results might help explain a troubling phenomenon in medicine: All too often, despite a multitude of clinical trials on a particular subject, the data do not supply the answers doctors need to treat patients. Failure to cite can affect hypotheses and conclusions.
Dr. Robinson, an assistant professor in the divisions of internal medicine and health sciences informatics, and Dr. Goodman, a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics and editor of the journal Clinical Trials, began their study by identifying 227 meta-analyses, studies that may combine relevant previous studies to gather power from pooled evidence. For example, a meta-analysis might collect all studies about a drug whose effectiveness in individual studies was sometimes equivocal. The analysis would ask whether, with all results combined, the drug may seem to work. The 227 meta-analyses cited a total of 1,523 clinical trials. For each clinical trial, the investigators asked how many of the other trials, published before it on the same topic and included with it in the meta-analysis, were cited. They never expected so few.
One reason might be that investigators do not think many of the results from previous studies apply to theirs. That is why, in a recent paper in Hepatology, Dr. Stephen Harrison of Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio and his colleagues did not cite any of 10 clinical trials used in a meta-analysis that followed his paper. He was studying the effects of a weight loss drug, orlistat, on liver function in overweight patients with fatty liver disease. Explaining why he failed to cite the other studies, he said, “I limited my discussion mainly to therapies that had been studied in fatty liver disease, not just obesity or diabetes.”
There are several steps along the way to a published paper where researchers might be asked about already published papers on the same topic. Those who finance the research, the ethics committees that review some studies and the journals that publish the studies all could ask the investigators how they assured themselves they had found prior relevant results.
