Validation of the Adult Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory-4 (SASSI-4)

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 86-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda E. Lazowski ◽  
Brent B. Geary

Abstract. The study objective was to develop a revision of the adult Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory-3 to include new items to identify nonmedical use of prescription medications, as well as additional subtle and symptom-related identifiers of substance use disorders (SUDs) and to evaluate its psychometric properties and screening accuracy against a criterion of DSM-5 diagnoses for SUD. Clinical professionals throughout the nine US Census Bureau regions and two Canadian provinces who used the SASSI Online screening tool submitted 1,284 completed administrations of the provisional SASSI-4 along with their independent DSM-5 diagnoses of SUD. Validation sample findings demonstrated SASSI-4 sensitivity of 93% and specificity of 90%, AUC = .91. Items added to identify respondents who were abusing prescription medications showed 94% overall screening accuracy. Logistic regression showed no significant effects of client demographic characteristics or type of screening setting on the accuracy of SASSI-4 screening outcomes. In Study 2, 120 adults in recovery from SUD completed the SASSI-4 under instructions to fake good. Sensitivity of 79% was demonstrated for the full scoring protocol and was 47% when only face valid scales were utilized. Clinical utility is discussed.

2019 ◽  
Vol 109 ◽  
pp. 397-402 ◽  
Author(s):  
John M. Abowd ◽  
Ian M. Schmutte ◽  
William N. Sexton ◽  
Lars Vilhuber

When Google or the US Census Bureau publishes detailed statistics on browsing habits or neighborhood characteristics, some privacy is lost for everybody while supplying public information. To date, economists have not focused on the privacy loss inherent in data publication. In their stead, these issues have been advanced almost exclusively by computer scientists who are primarily interested in technical problems associated with protecting privacy. Economists should join the discussion, first to determine where to balance privacy protection against data quality--a social choice problem. Furthermore, economists must ensure new privacy models preserve the validity of public data for economic research.


1991 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 357-398 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael L. Cohen

ABSTRACTThe census is a social fact, the outcome of a process that involves the interaction of public laws and institutions and citizens' responses to an official inquiry. However, it is not a ‘hard’ fact. Reasons for inevitable defects in the census count are listed in the first section; the second section reports efforts by the US Census Bureau to identify sources of error in census coverage, and make estimates of the size of the errors. The use of census data for policy purposes, such as political representation and allocating funds, makes these defects controversial. Errors may be removed by making adjustments to the initial census count. However, because adjustment reallocates resources between groups, it has become the subject of political conflict. The paper describes the conflict between statistical practices, laws and public policy about census adjustment in the United States, and concludes by considering the extent to which causes in America are likely to be found in other countries.


Stroke ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 48 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tzu-Ching Wu ◽  
Christy M Ankrom ◽  
Arvind B Bambhroliya ◽  
Shima Borzorgui ◽  
Sean I Savitz

Objective: Access to care is an important healthcare goal but access to research is also important to patients. We sought to gain an understanding of the status of stroke research among the various stroke designated hospitals in the state and to identify regions and facilities that lack access to stroke research. Methods: Texas Department of State Health Service (TDSHS) designated stroke facilities (DSF) were surveyed using a standardized questionnaire via telephone/email to confirm stroke center status, presence of a dedicated stroke coordinator, use of telestroke services, and participation in stroke research. Stroke discharge data were obtained from TDSHS and stroke volume (by ICD) were estimated for 2013 for all non-DSF. Census data were obtained from the US Census Bureau. Results: In total, 109/136 (80%) TDSHS DSF responded to the survey. Only 32/109 (29%) of the TDSHS DSF are participating in stroke research, mostly in the 4 metropolitan areas (fig 1). We identified 16 non-DSF that have 100-149 stroke discharges, and another 21 non-DSF that have ≥ 150 stroke discharges (fig 1). Over half (53%) of the DSF in the state are utilizing telestroke services. Conclusions: Most clinical stroke research conducted in Texas is in the 4 metropolitan markets. Our findings demonstrate that over 50% or ~14 million Texans reside outside of the 4 markets and therefore may lack access to stroke research. To increase access, we identified several non-DSF in the state with substantial stroke discharges (fig 1). Academic centers and non-DSF partnering through telemedicine and other relationships should be considered to expand throughout the state opportunities for participation in stroke research.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew D Zuckerman ◽  
Kavita Babu

The term “drugs of abuse” lacks a formal medical definition. Historically, discussions of drugs of abuse focused on “street drugs”; however, the adverse effects of the nonmedical use of prescription medications, such as opiates, benzodiazepines, and therapeutic amphetamines, are increasingly seen. The purpose of this review is to aid the clinician in identifying and treating a broad representation of drugs of abuse, which may include those illicitly produced in laboratories (e.g., methamphetamine), diverted pharmaceuticals (oxycodone), and herbal products (marijuana). This review covers stimulants, hallucinogens, cannabinoids, and sedative-hypnotics. Figures show substances ranked according to weighted harm score on a normalized scale from 0 being no harm to 100 being extreme harm to self and others, a treatment algorithm for sympathomimetic toxicity, a treatment algorithm for sedative-hypnotic overdose, and a treatment algorithm for opioid overdose. Tables list commonly abused sympathomimetic agents, modern novel drugs of abuse, commonly abused sedative-hypnotic agents, commonly abused opiates, and pitfalls of the drug screen.   This review contains 4 highly rendered figures, 5 tables, and 89 references


2021 ◽  
pp. 165-171
Author(s):  
Sabrina V. Pratt

Abstract The City of Santa Fe, New Mexico's Creative Tourism Initiative ran from 2009 to 2015. It began as a result of Santa Fe's membership in the United Nations Educational and Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Creative Cities Network. Santa Fe joined the network in 2005, and that same year a UNESCO representative involved in forming the Creative Cities Network brought up the concept of creative tourism as an economic development tool. Santa Fe, population 84,683 (US Census Bureau, 2019), is known for its history, arts, and culture in a southwestern US state that shares a border with Mexico. As a crossroads for Native American, Spanish, Mexican, and European culture, plus a beautiful desert and mountainous landscape, tourism is one of New Mexico's primary industries. The Creative Tourism Initiative, led by the City of Santa Fe, developed a robust selection of creative tourism experiences and promoted them. The City assigned staff members of its Arts Commission, the city's arts agency, to design and implement the programme. This study tackles how CTI promotes Santa Fe, in terms of training, their website, and other marketing channels.


Author(s):  
Paul Schor

This chapter discusses changes in the categories of ethnicity and immigration in the US census. From the beginning of the twentieth century to the 1930s, statistics on immigration and ethnicity took first place in schedules, published reports, and public policy. Not only did census figures establish immigration quotas, but census statisticians, with their methods and their culture, constructed the mechanism for exclusion by national origin. However, after 1928 there was a retreat from measuring ethnicity, which became evident in the 1930 and 1940 censuses by a marked lack of interest in questions of place of birth, mother tongue, and degree of assimilation. The history of the categories that made it possible to measure ethnicity is a complex one, involving three main groups of actors: advocates of immigration restriction, representatives of immigrant populations, and Census Bureau statisticians, with each group attempting to respond to contradictory demands and to defend their own interests.


Author(s):  
Marina Deuker ◽  
L. Franziska Stolzenbach ◽  
Claudia Collà Ruvolo ◽  
Luigi Nocera ◽  
Zhe Tian ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective Relative to urban populations, rural patients may have more limited access to care, which may undermine timely bladder cancer (BCa) diagnosis and even survival. Methods We tested the effect of residency status (rural areas [RA < 2500 inhabitants] vs. urban clusters [UC ≥ 2500 inhabitants] vs. urbanized areas [UA, ≥50,000 inhabitants]) on BCa stage at presentation, as well as on cancer-specific mortality (CSM) and other cause mortality (OCM), according to the US Census Bureau definition. Multivariate competing risks regression (CRR) models were fitted after matching of RA or UC with UA in stage-stratified analyses. Results Of 222,330 patients, 3496 (1.6%) resided in RA, 25,462 (11.5%) in UC and 193,372 (87%) in UA. Age, tumor stage, radical cystectomy rates or chemotherapy use were comparable between RA, UC and UA (all p > 0.05). At 10 years, RA was associated with highest OCM followed by UC and UA (30.9% vs. 27.7% vs. 25.6%, p < 0.01). Similarly, CSM was also marginally higher in RA or UC vs. UA (20.0% vs. 20.1% vs. 18.8%, p = 0.01). In stage-stratified, fully matched CRR analyses, increased OCM and CSM only applied to stage T1 BCa patients. Conclusion We did not observe meaningful differences in access to treatment or stage distribution, according to residency status. However, RA and to a lesser extent UC residency status, were associated with higher OCM and marginally higher CSM in T1N0M0 patients. This observation should be further validated or refuted in additional epidemiological investigations.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (7) ◽  
pp. 1068-1076 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahesh Krishna ◽  
Aziza Salako ◽  
Tatiana Fofanova ◽  
Richard Kellermayer

Abstract Background The incidence of pediatric inflammatory bowel diseases (PIBDs: Crohn’s disease [CD], ulcerative colitis [UC]) is on the rise around the world. Yet, the critical risk factors for this rising incidence are not well understood. Demographic characteristics of PIBD may improve our understanding of their developmental origins and aid in prevention. Methods Four hundred eighty-eight consecutive PIBD patients diagnosed at Texas Children’s Hospital from 13 counties around Houston were studied. An annual incidence map was created by ZIP code of residence at diagnosis by using ArcGIS and the American Community Survey from the US Census Bureau. Correlation between demographic variables and PIBD incidence was examined. A model to explain incidence from different health factors was created in R. Results Hispanic children were more likely to be diagnosed with UC (P &lt; 0.01) and unclassified IBD (IBD-U) (P &lt; 0.03) compared with other races/ethnicities. A significant positive correlation (r = 0.35, P &lt; 0.0001) between median household income and PIBD incidence was observed (UC: r = 0.23, P &lt; 0.0001; CD: r = 0.22, P = 0.0004). ZIP codes with majority college-educated adults had a higher incidence of PIBD than ZIP codes with majority high school–educated adults (P &lt; 0.0001). Pediatric cases with CD were more common in ZIP codes where the majority of adults were college educated (P &lt; 0.0001). Pediatric cases with UC, however, were more common in ZIP codes where the majority of adults were high school educated (P = 0.0036). Conclusions Hispanic children more commonly present with UC and IBD-U in southern USA. Household income and/or adult education–related environmental/dietary differences may be important in the developmental origins of PIBD in large metro areas, such as Houston.


2020 ◽  
pp. tobaccocontrol-2020-055976
Author(s):  
Aryn Z Phillips ◽  
Jennifer A Ahern ◽  
William C Kerr ◽  
Hector P Rodriguez

IntroductionIn September 2014, CVS Health ceased tobacco sales in all of its 7700 pharmacies nationwide. We investigate the impact of the CVS policy on the number of cigarettes smoked per day among metropolitan daily and non-daily smokers, who may respond to the availability of smoking cues in different manners.MethodsData are from the US Census Bureau Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey 2014–2015 and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Institute Community Health Management Hub. Adjusted difference-in-difference (DID) regressions assess changes in the number of cigarettes smoked per day among daily smokers (n=10 759) and non-daily smokers (n=3055), modelling core-based statistical area (CBSA) level CVS pharmacy market share continuously. To assess whether the policy had non-linear effects across the distribution of CVS market share, we also examine market share using tertiles.ResultsCVS’s tobacco-free pharmacy policy was associated with a significant reduction in the number of cigarettes smoked by non-daily smokers in the continuous DID (rate ratio=0.985, p=0.022), with a larger reduction observed among non-daily smokers in CBSAs in the highest third of CVS market share compared with those living in CBSAs with no CVS presence (rate ratio=0.706, p=0.027). The policy, however, was not significantly associated with differential changes in the number of cigarettes by daily smokers.ConclusionThe removal of tobacco products from CVS pharmacies was associated with a reduction in the number of cigarettes smoked per day among non-daily smokers in metropolitan CBSAs, particularly those in which CVS had a large pharmacy market share.


2012 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 98-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leslie Ahlborn ◽  
Jeffrey Michael Franc ◽  
D Sport Med

AbstractBackground: The state of Oklahoma, known for destructive tornados, has a native Spanish-speaking (NSS) population of approximately 180,241, of which 50% report being able to speak English “very well” (US Census Bureau). With almost 50% of these native Spanish-speaking persons being limited English proficient (LEP), their reception of tornado hazard communications may be restricted. This study conducted in northeast Oklahoma (USA) evaluates the association between native language and receiving tornado hazard communications.Methods: This study was a cross-sectional survey conducted among a convenience sample of NSS and native English-speaking (NES) adults at Xavier Clinic and St. Francis Trauma Emergency Center in Tulsa, OK, USA from September 2009 through December 2009. Of the 82 surveys administered, 80 were returned, with 40 NES and 40 NSS participants. A scoring system (Severe Weather Information Reception (SWIR)) was developed to quantify reception of hazard information among the study participants (1–3 points = poor reception, 4–5 = adequate reception, 6–8 = excellent reception). Pearson’s chi-squared test was used to calculate differences between groups with Yates’ continuity correction applied where appropriate, and SWIR scores were analyzed using ANOVA. P-values <.05 were considered significant.Results: NSS fluency in English was 25.6%. No significant association was found between native language and those who watch television, listen to radio, have a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) All Hazards radio or telephone, or are in audible range of a tornado siren. NSS were less likely to have Internet access (P < .004), and less likely to know of local telephone warning programs (P < .03). The mean NSS SWIR score was 3.2 (95% CI, 2.8-3.7) while LEP NSS averaged 2.8 (95% CI, 2.4-3.2). The mean NES SWIR score was 4.5 (95% CI, 4.1-5.0).Conclusion: Results demonstrate a disparity in tornado warning reception between NSS and NES. Poor English proficiency was noted to be 75% among NSS, which is approximately 25% more than estimated by the US Census Bureau. This study demonstrates a need for emergency managers to recognize when appropriate and overcome communication disparities among limited English proficient populations.


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