Language as a determinant of participation rates in Finnish health examination surveys

2017 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 240-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanna Tolonen ◽  
Päivikki Koponen ◽  
Katja Borodulin ◽  
Satu Männistö ◽  
Markku Peltonen ◽  
...  

Aim: A high participation rate is considered as a prerequisite for representative survey results, especially when it is known that non-participation is selective. In many countries migration is increasing and the proportion of people speaking other language(s) than the official language(s) of the country is also increasing. How does this affect survey participation rates? Methods: Data from four cross-sectional health examination surveys (the FINRISK Study) were used to evaluate the effect of the registered mother tongue to participation in the survey. Results: Finland has two official languages (Finnish and Swedish). Between 1997 and 2012, the proportion of the population with some other language as their registered mother tongue has increased significantly. Participation rates in the health surveys have been highest among the Finnish language group (68% in men in 1997 and 76% in women in 1997), while lowest among the foreign language group (43% in men in 1997 and 57% in women in 1997). In 2012, the participation rates had declined in all language groups: for men, 58%, 62% and 41% for Finnish, Swedish and foreign groups respectively, and for women 68%, 75% and 56%. Conclusions: The participation rate for the foreign language group was significantly lower than for the Finnish and Swedish groups. In future surveys it will be important to include actions to promote participation, e.g. providing survey material in several languages. These actions will increase costs but will be essential to ensure high participation rates and reliable results for the total population.

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 511-517 ◽  
Author(s):  
Baltazar Nunes ◽  
Marta Barreto ◽  
Ana P Gil ◽  
Irina Kislaya ◽  
Sónia Namorado ◽  
...  

Abstract Background In Health Examination Surveys interview information is complemented with objective information, providing more accurate indicators than self-reported data. We report the study design, planning and implementation of the first Portuguese Health Examination Survey (INSEF). Methods INSEF was a cross-sectional population-based study representative at regional and national level. Individuals aged between 25 and 74 years old, residing in Portugal were selected from the national health users’ registry through multi-stage stratified probabilistic sampling. Sample size was set at 4200 individuals. Data was collected in primary care units and included blood pressure, height, weight, hip and waist measurements, blood collection for lipid profile, HbA1c and blood count and a general health questionnaire. European HES procedures were followed. Results A total of 4911 individuals agreed to participate (43.9% participation rate). Participation rate varied by region, sex and age group, being lower in Lisbon and Tagus Valley (32.8%), for men (41.8%) and for those aged 25–34 years old (36%). Conclusions INSEF has set up an experienced national and regional structure for HES implementation. Nationally representative quality epidemiological data is now available for public health monitoring, planning and research.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 205435812110362
Author(s):  
Daphne C. Sniekers ◽  
James K. H. Jung ◽  
Peter G. Blake ◽  
Rebecca Cooper ◽  
Jerome A. Leis ◽  
...  

Background: People receiving in-center hemodialysis face a high risk for contracting severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and experience poor outcomes. During the first wave of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Ontario (between March and June 2020), it was unclear whether asymptomatic or presymptomatic cases were common and whether widespread testing of all dialysis patients and staff would identify cases earlier and prevent transmission. Ontario has a population of about 14.5 million. Approximately 8900 people receive dialysis across 102 in-center dialysis units. Objective: The objective of this study was to determine participation rates for patients and staff in point prevalence testing in dialysis units across the province and to determine the prevalence of asymptomatic or presymptomatic infection. Design: Cross-sectional study design. Setting: In-center hemodialysis units at 27 renal programs across Ontario. Participants: Patients and staff in in-center dialysis units in Ontario. Measurements: Participation rates, demographic data, SARS-CoV-2 positivity rates, and COVID-19-related symptom data. Methods: From June 8 to 30, 2020, all in-center dialysis patients and staff in the Province of Ontario were requested to undergo a symptom screening assessment and nasopharyngeal swab. Testing was done using polymerase chain reaction to detect SARS-CoV-2. A standardized questionnaire of atypical and typical COVID-19-related symptoms was administered to patients, to assess for new or worsening COVID-19-related symptoms. Results: Patient participation was 83% (7155 of 8612) of which 15 tests were positive: less than 5 (<0.07%) were new positive cases, 7 were false positive, and the remaining were recovered positives. Half of the new positive cases had symptoms. Common symptoms reported included fatigue (4%), falls (4%), runny nose (3%), dyspnea (3%), and cough (3%). Staff participation was 49% (2109 of 4325), and less than 5 (<0.24%) were asymptomatic positive. Limitations: As point prevalence testing was voluntary, not all patients and staff participated. Lower participation rate may be due to decreasing new cases in Ontario, and testing or pandemic fatigue, among other factors. This study did not use serology to identify prior infections because it was not widely available in Ontario. With respect to the standardized symptom questionnaire, it was only available in English and French and could not be tested due to the urgency of the initiative. Conclusions: Participation among patients in point prevalence testing was good, but participation among staff was relatively low. Asymptomatic positivity in the dialysis patient and staff population was rare during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
I Portillo Villares ◽  
M Solis Ibinagagoitia ◽  
S Unanue-Arza ◽  
L Martinez-Indart ◽  
A Lebeña Maluf ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The Basque Health Service (Spain) approved the Colorectal Cancer (CRC) screening programme in 2008; targeted at residents (50 to 69 years old) by biennial faecal immunochemical test and colonoscopy in positive cases. Total coverage was reached in 2014. Despite our high participation rate (72.3%), some people have never been screened, probably due to several factors (socio-economic factors, lifestyles, comorbidities, health preventive actions, etc.). The identification of these factors could be crucial in order to improve the results and impact of the programme. Methods Cross sectional descriptive study. All invited population in a complete round between 2015 and the first trimester of 2017 were included. Data base was linked to registered health risk factors, preventive activities managed by Primary Care and socioeconomic deprivation index. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed by SPSS 23.0. Results 515,388 people were invited and 71.9% participated. Non-participation is significantly (p ≤ 0.001) related to: being men (OR = 1.10); younger than 60 (OR = 1.18); smoker (OR = 1.20); hypertensive (OR = 1.14) and diabetic (OR = 1.40), as well as to having a severe comorbidity (OR = 2.09) and very high deprivation (OR = 1.15). Low use of Primary Care services (OR = 2.39) and inappropriate control of risk factors also increase the likelihood of not participating. Conclusions Several factors addressed in Primary Care influence the participation in the CRC Screening Programme. Its results and impact (decreasing incidence and mortality) could be improved if individual and socioeconomic factors are taken into account to increase participation. Primary care and social networks are key in further planned interventions. Key messages Decreasing inequalities in the screening participation is one of the most important objectives in this Public Health strategy. Primary Care plays a key role in all the screening programmes’ implementations.


2005 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 96-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirsten Howard ◽  
Glenn Salkeld ◽  
Les Irwig ◽  
Barbara-Ann Adelstein

Background: In many countries high participation is an explicit target in screening programmes. The desire for high participation often appears to drive screening policy, although it is increasingly recognized that encouraging high participation may impinge upon the rights of an individual to make an informed choice. One argument offered in support of high participation is that it improves the cost-effectiveness of screening. This is questionable on theoretical grounds, and empirically there are conflicting results. Two recent cost-effectiveness models of faecal occult blood test (FOBT) screening for colorectal cancer (CRC) showed that cost-effectiveness was improved, another showed that cost-effectiveness was worsened and a fourth indicated that cost-effectiveness was unaffected by increasing the participation rate. Methods: We assessed the extent to which different levels and patterns of participation affect cost-effectiveness, using decision modelling of three CRC screening with FOBT scenarios. We estimate the incremental cost-effectiveness (value for money) ratios for each scenario. Results: The way in which participation is modelled, particularly assumptions made about the subsequent screening behaviour of non-participants ('if' and 'when' a non-participant attends for subsequent screening), affects the cost-effectiveness estimates for FOBT screening programmes. 100% participation in all screening rounds gives a cost per life year saved (LYS) of US&dollar;9705. Cost-effectiveness is worst when people who do not take part in one screening round (initial or subsequent) never take part in any future rounds of screening. Under this scenario, a participation rate of 20% in second and subsequent rounds gives a cost per LYS of US&dollar;29,500. Under more realistic assumptions, for example the attendance of even a small proportion of non-participants in subsequent rounds, cost-effectiveness is more favourable and similar to that achieved for full participation: the scenario with a random participation rate of 20% in second and subsequent rounds for both participants and non-participants has a cost per LYS of US&dollar;11,270. Conclusions: Contrary to a commonly held view, high participation in screening programmes is not necessary to achieve cost-effectiveness. Setting high target participation rates in screening programmes does not guarantee cost-effectiveness and may in certain circumstances reduce the cost-effectiveness.


2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heidi Lyshol ◽  
Ana Paula Gil ◽  
Hanna Tolonen ◽  
Sónia Namorado ◽  
Irina Kislaya ◽  
...  

Abstract BackgroundParticipation rates in health surveys, recognized as an important quality dimension, have been declining over the years, which may affect representativeness and confidence in results. The Portuguese national health examination survey INSEF (2015) achieved a participation rate of 43.9%, which is in line with participation rates from other similar health examination surveys. The objective of this article is to describe strategies used by the local teams to increase participation rates and to solve practical survey problems.MethodsAfter a literature search, informal interviews were conducted with 14 public health officials from local health examination teams, regional and central authorities. 41 of the local staff members also filled in a short questionnaire anonymously. The interviews and self-administered questionnaires were analysed using mixed methods, informed by thematic analysis.ResultsThe local teams believed that the detailed manual, described as a "cookbook for making a health examination survey", made it possible to maintain high scientific standards while allowing for improvising solutions to problems in the local context. The quality of the manual, supported by a series of training workshops with the central research and support team, gave the teams the confidence and knowledge to implement local solutions. Motivation and cohesion within the local teams were among the goals of the training process. Local teams felt empowered by being given large responsibilities and worked hard to incite people to attend the examination through a close and persuasive approach.Local teams praised their INSA contacts for being available for assistance throughout the survey, and said they were inspired to try harder to reach participants to please their contacts for interpersonal reasons.ConclusionsThe theory of organizational improvisation or bricolage, which means using limited resources to solve problems, was useful to discuss and understand what took place during INSEF.A detailed manual covering standard procedures, continuous monitoring of the data collection and face-to-face workshops, including role-play, were vital to assure high scientific standards and high participation rates in this health examination survey. Close contacts between the central team and local focal points in all regions and all survey sites were key to accommodating unexpected challenges and innovative solutions.


2022 ◽  
Vol 2022 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Zhuo Wang ◽  
Zhenjiang Zhao ◽  
Lujia Wei

In order to effectively improve the sense of difference brought by the extracorporeal machine to users and minimize the related derived problems, the implementation based on embedded multisensor has become a major breakthrough in the research of cochlear implant. To explore the impact of different cultural differences on timbre perception, effectively evaluate the correlation between cultural differences and music perception teaching based on embedded multisensor normal hearing, evaluate the discrimination ability of embedded multisensor normal hearing to music timbre, and analyse the correlation between cultural differences and timbre perception, it provides a basis for the evaluation of music perception of normal hearing people with embedded multisensor and the design and development of evaluation tool. In this paper, adults with normal hearing in different cultures matched with music experience are selected to test their recognition ability of different musical instruments and the number of musical instruments by using music evaluation software, and the recognition accuracy of the two tests is recorded. The results show that the accuracy of musical instrument recognition in the mother tongue group is 15% higher than that in the foreign language group, and the average recognition rates of oboe, trumpet, and xylophone in the foreign language group are lower than those in the mother tongue group, the recognition rate of oboe and trumpet in wind instruments was low in both groups, and the recognition rate of oboe and trumpet in foreign language group was high.


2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 183-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shiro Ojima ◽  
Naoko Nakamura ◽  
Hiroko Matsuba-Kurita ◽  
Takahiro Hoshino ◽  
Hiroko Hagiwara

A foreign language (a language not spoken in one's community) is difficult to master completely. Early introduction of foreign-language (FL) education during childhood is becoming a standard in many countries. However, the neural process of child FL learning still remains largely unknown. We longitudinally followed 322 school-age children with diverse FL proficiency for three consecutive years, and acquired children's ERP responses to FL words that were semantically congruous or incongruous with the preceding picture context. As FL proficiency increased, various ERP components previously reported in mother-tongue (L1) acquisition (such as a broad negativity, an N400, and a late positive component) appeared sequentially, critically in an identical order to L1 acquisition. This finding was supported not only by cross-sectional analyses of children at different proficiency levels but also by longitudinal analyses of the same children over time. Our data are consistent with the hypothesis that FL learning in childhood reproduces identical developmental stages in an identical order to L1 acquisition, suggesting that the nature of the child's brain itself may determine the normal course of FL learning. Future research should test the generalizability of the results in other aspects of language such as syntax.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heidi Lyshol ◽  
Ana P. Gil ◽  
Hanna Tolonen ◽  
Sónia Namorado ◽  
Irina Kislaya ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Participation rates in health surveys, recognized as an important quality dimension, have been declining over the years, which may affect representativeness and confidence in results. The Portuguese national health examination survey INSEF (2015) achieved a participation rate of 43.9%, which is in line with participation rates from other similar health examination surveys. The objective of this article is to describe strategies used by the local teams to increase participation rates and to solve practical survey problems.Methods After a literature search, informal interviews were conducted with 14 public health officials from local health examination teams, regional and central authorities. 41 of the local staff members also filled in a short questionnaire anonymously. The interviews and self-administered questionnaires were analysed using mixed methods, informed by thematic analysis.Results The local teams believed that the detailed manual, described as a "cookbook for making a health examination survey", made it possible to maintain high scientific standards while allowing for improvising solutions to problems in the local context. The quality of the manual, supported by a series of training workshops with the central research and support team, gave the teams the confidence and knowledge to implement local solutions. Motivation and cohesion within the local teams were among the goals of the training process. Local teams felt empowered by being given large responsibilities and worked hard to incite people to attend the examination through a close and persuasive approach.Local teams praised their INSA contacts for being available for assistance throughout the survey, and said they were inspired to try harder to reach participants to please their contacts for interpersonal reasons.Conclusions The theory of organizational improvisation or bricolage, which means using limited resources to solve problems, was useful to discuss and understand what took place during INSEF.A detailed manual covering standard procedures and face-to-face workshops, including role-play, were vital to assure high scientific standards and high participation rates in this health examination survey. Close contacts between the central team and local focal points in all regions and all survey sites were key to accommodating unexpected challenges and innovative solutions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Simone Weyers ◽  
Annika Höhmann ◽  
Simon Götz ◽  
Katharina Kreffter

Abstract Background Children with a low socio-economic position (SEP) participate in prevention and health examinations less often. In order to increase participation, reminder systems have been implemented in Germany since 2009. The aim of the study is to investigate whether this implementation is associated with an increased participation in health examination in early childhood for children in disadvantaged social circumstances. Methods We used data from the school enrolment examination from 2002 to 2017 from the city of Duesseldorf (n = 64,883 children). With a trend analysis we observed health examination over time and we compared rates of children after implementation of the reminder system (2010 or later) to those who were not exposed to the programme (earlier than 2010). Health examination was measured by participation in the last examination before school entry (“U9”) documented by paediatricians. Social circumstances included neighbourhood deprivation (very high to very low), migration background (foreign first language vs. German) and family status (one-parent vs. two-parent families). Poisson regression estimated adjusted Prevalence Ratios (PR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of U9 participation by reminder system exposure, both for the total population and within groups of social circumstances. Based on that, we calculated adjusted participation rates (predictive margins) by reminder system exposure for the different social circumstances. Results Participation rates increased slightly, but gradually over time. The probability of U9 participation for children exposed to the reminder system is 1.04-fold (1.03–1.04 CI) compared to children who were not exposed to it. The association of the reminder system and U9 participation differs according to social circumstances. Adjusted prevalences increased the most in the group of children from very deprived neighbourhoods, ranging from 84.3 to 91.4% (PR = 1.07; 1.03–1.10 CI); in all language groups; more in children from one-parent families ranging from 82.4 to 88.9% (PR = 1.07; 1.05–1.09 CI). Conclusion Our results suggest that reminder systems have a moderate impact on the participation in health examinations in early childhood in the general population. In vulnerable groups, however, they could make a difference. Reminder systems should be combined with further activities of tailored prevention.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 72-80
Author(s):  
Niluh Nita Silfia

Partographs are guidelines for childbirth observations that will facilitate labor assistants in first identifying emergency cases and complications for mothers and fetuses. Preliminary survey at the Sigi Community Health Sub-Center (Pustu) of the 8 Pustu midwives found two midwives (25%) to complete a complete partograph, six midwives (75%) incomplete. The purpose of this study was to determine the determinant factors associated with the use of partographs in labor. The design of this study used observational analytic methods with a cross-sectional approach. 24 BPM survey results were obtained with 30 samples of midwives who met the research criteria and data completeness. The sampling technique was by the total population. Data analysis used logistic regression. The multivariate analysis results showed that APN training was the most influential factor in the use of partographs in labor by midwives. Statistical test results obtained a POR value of 37.7 (95% CI 12.1 - 60.2). This study suggests that midwives must have APN certificates to be valid in providing services.


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