scholarly journals The impact of improved data quality on the prevalence estimates of anthropometric measures using DHS datasets in India

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Harsh Vivek Harkare ◽  
Daniel J. Corsi ◽  
Rockli Kim ◽  
Sebastian Vollmer ◽  
S. V. Subramanian
Keyword(s):  
Data Quality ◽  
Differential Impact ◽  
Anthropometric Measures ◽  
True Prevalence ◽  
Contentious Issue ◽  
Percentage Points ◽  
Prevalence Estimates ◽  
Quality Checks ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Data Quality Indicators

AbstractThe importance of data quality to correctly determine prevalence estimates of child anthropometric failures has been a contentious issue among policymakers and researchers. Our research objective was to ascertain the impact of improved DHS data quality on the prevalence estimates of stunting, wasting, and underweight. The study also looks for the drivers of data quality. Using five data quality indicators based on age, sex, anthropometric measurements, and normality distribution, we arrive at two datasets of differential data quality and their estimates of anthropometric failures. For this purpose, we use the 2005–2006 and 2015–2016 NFHS data covering 311,182 observations from India. The prevalence estimates of stunting and underweight were virtually unchanged after the application of quality checks. The estimate of wasting had fallen 2 percentage points, indicating an overestimation of the true prevalence. However, this differential impact on the estimate of wasting was driven by the flagging procedure’s sensitivity and was in accordance with empirical evidence from existing literature. We found DHS data quality to be of sufficiently high quality for the prevalence estimates of stunting and underweight, to not change significantly after further improving the data quality. The differential estimate of wasting is attributable to the sensitivity of the flagging procedure.

scholarly journals Evaluating the Use of 90-90-90 for HIV Policy in the Asian Context

2021 ◽  
pp. 43-48
Author(s):  
Richard M. Grimes ◽  
Deanna E. Grimes
Keyword(s):  
Viral Suppression ◽  
Point Prevalence ◽  
Point Estimate ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
True Prevalence ◽  
Point Estimates ◽  
Prevalence Estimates ◽  
Asian Context ◽  
Low Prevalence ◽  
The Impact

UNAIDS recommends the 90-90-90 policy for controlling HIV infection (identify 90% of HIV cases, provide care for 90% of these, and have 90% of the treated achieve viral suppression). 90-90-90 requires an accurate measurement of HIV prevalence, which is impossible to achieve. Prevalence must be estimated. Customarily, 90-90-90 prevalence estimates are based on point estimates at the midpoint of a credible range of high and low estimates. This paper examines the effect of the high and low estimates on 90-90-90. We examined the impact on policy goal based on 90% of the point estimate, if the true prevalence were the credible range’s high or low estimate. This was calculated for 14 Asian Countries (Afghanistan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Laos Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines Thailand, Uzbekistan, Viet Nam) that UNAIDS estimated point prevalence of prevalence greater than 10,000 persons. If the low estimate for the 14 countries was the true prevalence, 11 of the countries could not achieve 90% of the point estimate because the low prevalence was less than 90% of the point estimate. The other three countries, would have to identify 97.5% to 99.0% of infected persons to achieve 90% of the point prevalence. If the true prevalence is the high estimate, twelve of the countries would have identified only 76.8% to 84.9 of the true prevalence. Afghanistan (26.0%) and Iran (40.8%) would have identified far fewer persons than the point estimate goal. Therefore 90-90-90 should be considered to be non-evaluable and should not be used for policy making.

The Effect of Taxation and Corruption on Firm Growth: An Empirical Investigation for Vietnam

2016 ◽  
pp. 5-29
Author(s):  
Bich Le Thi Ngoc
Keyword(s):  
International Development ◽  
Firm Growth ◽  
Empirical Investigation ◽  
Manufacturing Firms ◽  
Economic Management ◽  
Tax Rate ◽  
Percentage Point Increase ◽  
Percentage Points ◽  
Point Increase ◽  
The Impact

The aim of this study is to analyze empirically the impact of taxation and corruption on the growth of manufacturing firms in Vietnam. The study employed pooled OLS estimation and then instrument variables with fixed effect for the panel data of 1377 firms in Vietnam from 2005 to 2011. These data were obtained from the survey of the Central Institute for Economic Management and the Danish International Development Agency. The results show that both taxation and corruption are negatively associated with firm growth measured by firm sales adjusted according to the GDP deflator. A one-percentage point increase in the bribery rate is linked with a reduction of 16,883 percentage points in firm revenue, over four and a half times bigger than the effect of a one-percentage point increase in the tax rate. From the findings of this research, the author recommends the Vietnam government to lessen taxation on firms and that there should be an urgent revolution in anti-corruption policies as well as bureaucratic improvement in Vietnam.

High dietary restraint improves performance on a food-motivated probabilistic selection task

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer R Sadler ◽  
Grace Elisabeth Shearrer ◽  
Nichollette Acosta ◽  
Kyle Stanley Burger
Keyword(s):  
Reinforcement Learning ◽  
Instrumental Conditioning ◽  
Food Reinforcement ◽  
Dietary Restraint ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Brain Response ◽  
Anthropometric Measures ◽  
Instrumental Task ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Reward And Punishment

BACKGROUND: Dietary restraint represents an individual’s intent to limit their food intake and has been associated with impaired passive food reinforcement learning. However, the impact of dietary restraint on an active, response dependent learning is poorly understood. In this study, we tested the relationship between dietary restraint and food reinforcement learning using an active, instrumental conditioning task. METHODS: A sample of ninety adults completed a response-dependent instrumental conditioning task with reward and punishment using sweet and bitter tastes. Brain response via functional MRI was measured during the task. Participants also completed anthropometric measures, reward/motivation related questionnaires, and a working memory task. Dietary restraint was assessed via the Dutch Restrained Eating Scale. RESULTS: Two groups were selected from the sample: high restraint (n=29, score >2.5) and low restraint (n=30; score <1.85). High restraint was associated with significantly higher BMI (p=0.003) and lower N-back accuracy (p=0.045). The high restraint group also was marginally better at the instrumental conditioning task (p=0.066, r=0.37). High restraint was also associated with significantly greater brain response in the intracalcarine cortex (MNI: 15, -69, 12; k=35, pfwe< 0.05) to bitter taste, compared to neutral taste.CONCLUSIONS: High restraint was associated with improved performance on an instrumental task testing how individuals learn from reward and punishment. This may be mediated by greater brain response in the primary visual cortex, which has been associated with mental representation. Results suggest that dietary restraint does not impair response-dependent reinforcement learning.

scholarly journals Police-involved Deaths and the Impact on Homicide Rates in the Post-Ferguson Era: A Study of 44 U.S. Cities

2021 ◽  
pp. 088626052110283
Author(s):  
Tyler J Lane
Keyword(s):  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Interrupted Time Series ◽  
Homicide Rates ◽  
Aggravated Assault ◽  
Series Design ◽  
Percentage Points ◽  
Black Populations ◽  
Fbi Data ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Interrupted Time Series Design

This study investigated whether homicides increased after protested police-involved deaths, focusing on the period after Michael Brown’s death in Ferguson in August 2014. It also tests for effects of legal cynicism by comparing effects in homicide and aggravated assault on the assumption that reporting of the latter is discretionary and police abuses may make communities reluctant to notify police. Using FBI data from 44 U.S. cities, homicide and assault rates from 2011 to 2019 were analyzed using an interrupted time series design and combined in a meta-analysis to calculate pooled effects. A meta-regression tested effect moderators including external investigations and city/county sociodemographic characteristics. With a conservative threshold of p ≤ .01, 21 of the 44 cities experienced a significant increase and one had a significant decrease. The pooled effect was a 26.1% increase in the homicide (99% CI: 15.3% to 36.8%). Aggravated assaults increased above baseline, though the effect was 15.2 percentage points smaller (99% CI: –26.7 to –3.6) than the effect in homicides. When outcomes were measured as percent change, there were no significant effect moderators, but when measured as absolute change, homicides increased to a greater extent when the death was subject to external investigation and in cities with higher Black populations, poverty rates, and baseline homicide rates. The findings suggest that protested police-involved deaths led to an increase in homicides and other violence due to the distrust fomented within the very communities whom police are meant to protect.

Differential impact of on-site or telepharmacy in the intensive care unit: a controlled before–after study

2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joao Gabriel Rosa Ramos ◽  
Sandra Cristina Hernandes ◽  
Talita Teles Teixeira Pereira ◽  
Shana Oliveira ◽  
Denis de Melo Soares ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Intensive Care Unit ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Phase 1 ◽  
Phase 2 ◽  
Differential Impact ◽  
Scarce Resources ◽  
Clinical Pharmacists ◽  
Versus Phase ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background Clinical pharmacists have an important role in the intensive care unit (ICU) team but are scarce resources. Our aim was to evaluate the impact of on-site pharmacists on medical prescriptions in the ICU. Methods This is a retrospective, quasi-experimental, controlled before-after study in two ICUs. Interventions by pharmacists were evaluated in phase 1 (February to November 2016) and phase 2 (February to May 2017) in ICU A (intervention) and ICU B (control). In phase 1, both ICUs had a telepharmacy service in which medical prescriptions were evaluated and interventions were made remotely. In phase 2, an on-site pharmacist was implemented in ICU A, but not in ICU B. We compared the number of interventions that were accepted in phase 1 versus phase 2. Results During the study period, 8797/9603 (91.6%) prescriptions were evaluated, and 935 (10.6%) needed intervention. In phase 2, there was an increase in the proportion of interventions that were accepted by the physician in comparison to phase 1 (93.9% versus 76.8%, P < 0.001) in ICU A, but there was no change in ICU B (75.2% versus 73.9%, P = 0.845). Conclusion An on-site pharmacist in the ICU was associated with an increase in the proportion of interventions that were accepted by physicians.

scholarly journals Disability pension among persons with chronic disease: Differential impact of a Danish policy reform

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jimmi Mathisen ◽  
Natasja Koitzsch Jensen ◽  
Jakob Bue Bjorner ◽  
Henrik Brønnum-Hansen ◽  
Ulla Christensen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Disease ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Disability Pension ◽  
Policy Reform ◽  
Disease Type ◽  
Functional Disorders ◽  
Differential Impact ◽  
Hazard Ratios ◽  
Study Population ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background In 2013, Denmark implemented a reform that tightened the criteria for disability pension, expanded a subsidized job scheme (‘flexi-job’) and introduced a new vocational rehabilitation scheme. The overall aim of the reform was to keep more persons attached to the labour market. This study investigates the impact of the reform among persons with chronic disease and whether this impact differed across groups defined by labour market affiliation and chronic disease type. Methods The study was conducted as a register-based, nationwide cohort study. The study population included 480 809 persons between 40 and 64 years of age, who suffered from at least one of six chronic diseases. Hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of being awarded disability pension or flexi-job in the 5 years after vs. the 5 years prior to the reform were estimated. Results Overall, the probability of being awarded disability pension was halved after the reform (HR = 0.49, CI: 0.47–0.50). The impact was largest for persons receiving sickness absence benefits (HR = 0.31, CI: 0.24–0.39) and for persons with functional disorders (HR = 0.38, CI: 0.32–0.44). Also, the impact was larger for persons working in manual jobs than for persons working in non-manual jobs. The probability of being awarded a flexi-job was decreased by one-fourth (HR = 0.76, CI: 0.74–0.79) with the largest impact for high-skilled persons working in non-manual jobs. Conclusion Access to disability pension and flexi-job decreased after the reform. This impact varied according to labour market affiliation and chronic disease type.

Survey Data Quality in Analyzing Harmonized Indicators of Protest Behavior: A Survey Data Recycling Approach

2021 ◽  
pp. 000276422110216
Author(s):  
Kazimierz M. Slomczynski ◽  
Irina Tomescu-Dubrow ◽  
Ilona Wysmulek
Keyword(s):  
Data Processing ◽  
Data Quality ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Survey Quality ◽  
Survey Error ◽  
Ex Post ◽  
The Impact

This article proposes a new approach to analyze protest participation measured in surveys of uneven quality. Because single international survey projects cover only a fraction of the world’s nations in specific periods, researchers increasingly turn to ex-post harmonization of different survey data sets not a priori designed as comparable. However, very few scholars systematically examine the impact of the survey data quality on substantive results. We argue that the variation in source data, especially deviations from standards of survey documentation, data processing, and computer files—proposed by methodologists of Total Survey Error, Survey Quality Monitoring, and Fitness for Intended Use—is important for analyzing protest behavior. In particular, we apply the Survey Data Recycling framework to investigate the extent to which indicators of attending demonstrations and signing petitions in 1,184 national survey projects are associated with measures of data quality, controlling for variability in the questionnaire items. We demonstrate that the null hypothesis of no impact of measures of survey quality on indicators of protest participation must be rejected. Measures of survey documentation, data processing, and computer records, taken together, explain over 5% of the intersurvey variance in the proportions of the populations attending demonstrations or signing petitions.

scholarly journals Debt Relief and Debtor Outcomes: Measuring the Effects of Consumer Bankruptcy Protection

2015 ◽  
Vol 105 (3) ◽  
pp. 1272-1311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Will Dobbie ◽  
Jae Song
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Social Insurance ◽  
The United States ◽  
Debt Relief ◽  
Random Assignment ◽  
Percentage Points ◽  
Consumer Bankruptcy ◽  
Annual Earnings ◽  
The Impact

Consumer bankruptcy is one of the largest social insurance programs in the United States, but little is known about its impact on debtors. We use 500,000 bankruptcy filings matched to administrative tax and foreclosure data to estimate the impact of Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection on subsequent outcomes. Exploiting the random assignment of bankruptcy filings to judges, we find that Chapter 13 protection increases annual earnings by $5,562, decreases five-year mortality by 1.2 percentage points, and decreases five-year foreclo-sure rates by 19.1 percentage points. These results come primarily from the deterioration of outcomes among dismissed filers, not gains by granted filers. (JEL D14, I12, J22, J31, K35)

scholarly journals Conducting Population Health Research during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Impacts and Recommendations

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 3320
Author(s):  
Amy R. Villarosa ◽  
Lucie M. Ramjan ◽  
Della Maneze ◽  
Ajesh George
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Data Quality ◽  
Population Health ◽  
Health Research ◽  
Alternative Methods ◽  
Residential Aged Care ◽  
Recruitment Methods ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
The Impact

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in many changes, including restrictions on indoor gatherings and visitation to residential aged care facilities, hospitals and certain communities. Coupled with potential restrictions imposed by health services and academic institutions, these changes may significantly impact the conduct of population health research. However, the continuance of population health research is beneficial for the provision of health services and sometimes imperative. This paper discusses the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on the conduct of population health research. This discussion unveils important ethical considerations, as well as potential impacts on recruitment methods, face-to-face data collection, data quality and validity. In addition, this paper explores potential recruitment and data collection methods that could replace face-to-face methods. The discussion is accompanied by reflections on the challenges experienced by the authors in their own research at an oral health service during the COVID-19 pandemic and alternative methods that were utilised in place of face-to-face methods. This paper concludes that, although COVID-19 presents challenges to the conduct of population health research, there is a range of alternative methods to face-to-face recruitment and data collection. These alternative methods should be considered in light of project aims to ensure data quality is not compromised.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document