Differential impacts of ridesharing on alcohol-related crashes by socioeconomic municipalities: rate of technology adoption matters

Abstract Background An emergent group of studies have examined the extent under which ridesharing may decrease alcohol-related crashes in countries such as United States, United Kingdom, Brazil, and Chile. Virtually all existent studies have assumed that ridesharing is equally distributed across socioeconomic groups, potentially masking differences across them. We contribute to this literature by studying how socioeconomic status at the municipal level impacts Uber’s effect on alcohol-related crashes. Methods We use data provided by Chile’s Road Safety Commission considering all alcohol-related crashes, and fatal and severe alcohol-related injuries that occurred between January 2013 and September 2013 (before Uber) and January and September 2014 (with Uber) in Santiago. We first apply spatial autocorrelation techniques to examine the level of spatial dependence between the location of alcohol-related crashes with and without Uber. We then apply random-effects meta-analysis to obtain risk ratios of alcohol-related crashes by considering socioeconomic municipality differences before and after the introduction of Uber. Results In both analyses, we find that the first 9 months of Uber in Santiago is associated with significant rate ratio decreases (RR = 0.71 [95% Confidence Interval (C.I.) 0.56, 0.89]) in high socioeconomic municipalities in all alcohol-related crashes and null (RR = 1.10 [95% C.I. 0.97, 1.23]) increases in low socioeconomic municipalities. No concomitant associations were observed in fatal alcohol-related crashes regardless of the socioeconomic municipality group. Conclusions One interpretation for the decline in alcohol-related crashes in high socioeconomic municipalities is that Uber may be a substitute form of transport for those individuals who have access to credit cards, and thus, could afford to pay for this service at the time they have consumed alcohol. Slight increases of alcohol-related crashes in low socioeconomic municipalities should be studied further since this could be related to different phenomena such as increases in alcohol sales and consumption, less access to the provision of public transport services in these jurisdictions, or biases in police reports.

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Differential Impacts of Ridesharing on Alcohol-related Crashes by Socioeconomic Municipalities: Rate of Technology Adoption Matters

10.21203/rs.3.rs-362419/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Carola Blazquez ◽

José Guillermo Cedeño Laurent ◽

José Ignacio Nazif-Munoz

Keyword(s):

Credit Card ◽

Rate Ratio ◽

Cell Phone ◽

Credit Cards ◽

Transport Systems ◽

First Year ◽

Transport Service ◽

Low Socioeconomic ◽

Access To Credit ◽

Socioeconomic Groups

Abstract Background: With the introduction of ridesharing through cell phone applications, the shape of transport systems has changed dramatically. An emergent group of studies have examined the extent under which ridesharing may decrease alcohol-related crashes in countries such as United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Chile. Virtually all existent studies have assumed that ridesharing is equally distributed across socioeconomic groups, potentially masking differences across them. In this study, we exploit differences across different socioeconomic groups of municipalities in a highly segregated city such as Santiago, Chile to test whether, in the first year of Uber, this transport service was associated with changes in rates of fatal and injury alcohol-related crashes within municipalities. We used this period because Uber could only be paid with credit card. In Chile, this device is limited almost exclusively to high socioeconomic individuals.Methods: We apply spatial and rate ratio statistical analyses. Results: In both analyses, we find that the first year of Uber in Santiago is associated with significant rate ratio decreases (RR = 0.71 [95% Confidence Interval (C.I.) 0.56, 0.89]) in high socioeconomic municipalities in all alcohol-related crashes and null (RR = 1.10 [95% C.I. 0.97, 1.23]) increases in low socioeconomic municipalities. No concomitant associations were observed in fatal alcohol-related crashes regardless of the socioeconomic municipality group.Conclusions: One interpretation for the decline in alcohol-related crashes in high socioeconomic municipalities is that Uber may be a substitute form of transport for those individuals who have access to credit cards, and thus, could afford to pay for this service at the time they have consumed alcohol. Slight increases of alcohol-related crashes in low socioeconomic municipalities suggest that this association may be a function of alcohol consumption, in tandem with limited access to public transport alternatives within these territories.

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The effect of rTMS in the management of pain associated with CRPS

Translational Neuroscience ◽

10.1515/tnsci-2020-0120 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 363-370

Author(s):

Min Cheol Chang ◽

Sang Gyu Kwak ◽

Donghwi Park

Keyword(s):

Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Pain Syndrome ◽

Treatment Session ◽

Cochrane Library ◽

Exclusion Criteria ◽

Analgesic Effects ◽

Randomized Controlled ◽

Before And After

AbstractBackgroundTherapeutic management of pain in patients with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is challenging. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has analgesic effects on several types of pain. However, its effect on CRPS has not been elucidated clearly. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis of the available clinical studies on rTMS treatment in patients with CRPS.Materials and methodsA comprehensive literature search was conducted using the PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and SCOPUS databases. We included studies published up to February 09, 2020, that fulfilled our inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data regarding measurement of pain using the visual analog scale before and after rTMS treatment were collected to perform the meta-analysis. The meta-analysis was performed using Comprehensive Meta-analysis Version 2.ResultsA total of three studies (one randomized controlled trial and two prospective observational studies) involving 41 patients were included in this meta-analysis. No significant reduction in pain was observed immediately after one rTMS treatment session or immediately after the entire schedule of rTMS treatment sessions (5 or 10 sessions; P > 0.05). However, pain significantly reduced 1 week after the entire schedule of rTMS sessions (P < 0.001).ConclusionrTMS appears to have a functional analgesic effect in patients with CRPS.

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Is Brief Exposure to Green Space in School the Best Option to Improve Attention in Children?

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18147484 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (14) ◽

pp. 7484

Author(s):

Asier Anabitarte ◽

Gonzalo García-Baquero ◽

Ainara Andiarena ◽

Nerea Lertxundi ◽

Nerea Urbieta ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

School Children ◽

Green Space ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Statistical Design ◽

Green Spaces ◽

Attention Network Test ◽

Positive Effects ◽

Gender Biases ◽

Before And After

The positive effects of Green Spaces on health are thought to be achieved through the mechanisms of mitigation, instoration and restoration. One of the benefits of Green Spaces may be the restoration of attention and so the objective of this research is testing empirically whether exposure to a green environment improves attention in school children. For so doing, we first used a split-unit statistical design in each of four schools, then combined the primary results via meta-analysis. The Attention Network Test (ANT) was used to measure attention before and after exposure and a total of 167 seven-year-old students participated in the experiments. Overall, our experimental results do not support the hypothesis that students’ exposure to activities in green vs. grey spaces affected their performance in ANT. This was so despite the fact that neither age nor gender biases have been detected and despite that our experiments have been proved to be sufficiently statistically powerful. It would be advisable to consider air pollution and noise. We also recommend that participants attend the experiment with mental exhaustion to maximize the ability to detect significant changes.

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How effective are electronic medication systems in reducing medication error rates and associated harm among hospital inpatients? A systematic review and meta-analysis

Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association ◽

10.1093/jamia/ocaa230 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Peter J Gates ◽

Rae-Anne Hardie ◽

Magdalena Z Raban ◽

Ling Li ◽

Johanna I Westbrook

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Medication Error ◽

Medication Errors ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Error Rates ◽

Prescribing Error ◽

Before And After ◽

Actual Harm ◽

Computer Based ◽

Wide Scale

Abstract Objective To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess: 1) changes in medication error rates and associated patient harm following electronic medication system (EMS) implementation; and 2) evidence of system-related medication errors facilitated by the use of an EMS. Materials and Methods We searched Medline, Scopus, Embase, and CINAHL for studies published between January 2005 and March 2019, comparing medication errors rates with or without assessments of related harm (actual or potential) before and after EMS implementation. EMS was defined as a computer-based system enabling the prescribing, supply, and/or administration of medicines. Study quality was assessed. Results There was substantial heterogeneity in outcomes of the 18 included studies. Only 2 were strong quality. Meta-analysis of 5 studies reporting change in actual harm post-EMS showed no reduced risk (RR: 1.22, 95% CI: 0.18–8.38, P = .8) and meta-analysis of 3 studies reporting change in administration errors found a significant reduction in error rates (RR: 0.77, 95% CI: 0.72–0.83, P = .004). Of 10 studies of prescribing error rates, 9 reported a reduction but variable denominators precluded meta-analysis. Twelve studies provided specific examples of system-related medication errors; 5 quantified their occurrence. Discussion and Conclusion Despite the wide-scale adoption of EMS in hospitals around the world, the quality of evidence about their effectiveness in medication error and associated harm reduction is variable. Some confidence can be placed in the ability of systems to reduce prescribing error rates. However, much is still unknown about mechanisms which may be most effective in improving medication safety and design features which facilitate new error risks.

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Impact of Odd–Even Scheme on Travel Pattern in Delhi

Journal of Resources Energy and Development ◽

10.3233/red-170103 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 17 (1) ◽

pp. 27-38

Author(s):

Palak Thakur ◽

Sharif Qamar

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Travel Time ◽

Travel Pattern ◽

Modal Shift ◽

Daily Work ◽

Transport Services ◽

Huge Impact ◽

Perception Analysis ◽

The Impact ◽

Public Transport Services

The paper intends to assess the impact of the odd–even scheme on the travel pattern of the daily commuters in Delhi. The objective of the paper is to assess the impact of the odd–even scheme on mode choice for daily work trips, shift in travel patterns – before, during, and post-implementation – of the odd–even scheme, and to understand people perception regarding the odd–even scheme. Based on the primary survey, the paper concludes that the odd–even scheme brought a significant impact in the travel pattern in terms of occupancy, travel cost, travel time, and modal shift, and statistically not so much on the air quality gain. It was observed that the scheme helped increase the occupancy rate in cars as well as ridership of buses and Delhi metro. The scheme had a huge impact on congestion, which was evident from both perception analysis and the change in travel time. The modal shift, with an improvement in public transport services and a reduction in car users, is one of the key successes of the scheme resulting in decrease in air pollution caused by private vehicles. To improve the outcome of the odd–even scheme on air pollution, two-wheelers should not be exempted going forward.

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The effects of non-pharmaceutical interventions on SARS-CoV-2 transmission in different socioeconomic populations in Kuwait: a modeling study

BMC Public Health ◽

10.1186/s12889-021-10984-6 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Fatima Khadadah ◽

Abdullah A. Al-Shammari ◽

Ahmad Alhashemi ◽

Dari Alhuwail ◽

Bader Al-Saif ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Disease Transmission ◽

Reproduction Number ◽

Transmission Model ◽

Socioeconomic Groups ◽

Before And After ◽

Cross Transmission ◽

Community Transmission ◽

The Impact ◽

Pharmaceutical Interventions ◽

The Basic Reproduction Number

Abstract Background Aggressive non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) may reduce transmission of SARS-CoV-2. The extent to which these interventions are successful in stopping the spread have not been characterized in countries with distinct socioeconomic groups. We compared the effects of a partial lockdown on disease transmission among Kuwaitis (P1) and non-Kuwaitis (P2) living in Kuwait. Methods We fit a modified metapopulation SEIR transmission model to reported cases stratified by two groups to estimate the impact of a partial lockdown on the effective reproduction number ($$ {\mathcal{R}}_e $$ R e ). We estimated the basic reproduction number ($$ {\mathcal{R}}_0 $$ R 0 ) for the transmission in each group and simulated the potential trajectories of an outbreak from the first recorded case of community transmission until 12 days after the partial lockdown. We estimated $$ {\mathcal{R}}_e $$ R e values of both groups before and after the partial curfew, simulated the effect of these values on the epidemic curves and explored a range of cross-transmission scenarios. Results We estimate $$ {\mathcal{R}}_e $$ R e at 1·08 (95% CI: 1·00–1·26) for P1 and 2·36 (2·03–2·71) for P2. On March 22nd, $$ {\mathcal{R}}_e $$ R e for P1 and P2 are estimated at 1·19 (1·04–1·34) and 1·75 (1·26–2·11) respectively. After the partial curfew had taken effect, $$ {\mathcal{R}}_e $$ R e for P1 dropped modestly to 1·05 (0·82–1·26) but almost doubled for P2 to 2·89 (2·30–3·70). Our simulated epidemic trajectories show that the partial curfew measure greatly reduced and delayed the height of the peak in P1, yet significantly elevated and hastened the peak in P2. Modest cross-transmission between P1 and P2 greatly elevated the height of the peak in P1 and brought it forward in time closer to the peak of P2. Conclusion Our results indicate and quantify how the same lockdown intervention can accentuate disease transmission in some subpopulations while potentially controlling it in others. Any such control may further become compromised in the presence of cross-transmission between subpopulations. Future interventions and policies need to be sensitive to socioeconomic and health disparities.

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Building a Model of Integration of Urban Sharing and Public Transport Services

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13063086 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (6) ◽

pp. 3086

Author(s):

Marcin Jacek Kłos ◽

Grzegorz Sierpiński

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Public Transport ◽

Urban Transport ◽

Extensive Literature ◽

Transport Services ◽

Harmful Emissions ◽

Specific Factors ◽

The Given ◽

Public Transport Services ◽

Potential Area

The intense growth of cities affects their inhabitants to a considerable extent. The issues facing the traveling population include congestion and growing harmful emissions. Urban transport requires changes towards eco-friendly solutions. However, even though new forms of traveling (sharing services) are being implemented, their integration with public transport remains problematic. On account of the large number of available services combined with the absence of their integration, city inhabitants are faced with the dilemma of choosing between one or several transport modes which would enable them to make the given trip. The main goal of this article is to propose a model for integration of different transport services which could support those who intend to travel in the decision-making process. Therefore, the parameters of a model of urban sharing services were identified and classified. The parameters discussed in the paper with reference to an extensive literature review describe how individual sharing services are functioning. What has also been identified is the location-specific factors as well as those related to the potential area of operation which affect the integration with public transport. In order to take all the relevant parameters into account and find a solution to the problem at hand, a multi-criteria decision-making approach has been proposed. To this end, scores and weights determining their impact on the model have been established. For purposes of the solution in question, the relevant calculations were conducted by referring to an actual need to travel between selected locations.

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19 Colectomy Rate for Moderate to Severe Ulcerative Colitis with Biologics

British Journal of Surgery ◽

10.1093/bjs/znab134.188 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 108 (Supplement_2) ◽

Author(s):

J W H Koh ◽

C H Ng ◽

M H Lee ◽

Y H Chin ◽

Z H Ong ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ulcerative Colitis ◽

Current Literature ◽

Biologic Therapy ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Severe Ulcerative Colitis ◽

Before And After ◽

Arcsine Transformation ◽

One Year

Abstract Introduction Biologics are recommended by both the ACG and ECCO community for the treatment of ulcerative colitis. Yet, current literature has yet to estimate the rate of colectomies after biologic therapy, and thus a pooled meta-analysis was conducted the rate of colectomies in 1month, 6 months, 1 year, 2years and five years after biologics. Method Medline and Embase were searched for articles examining biologics use in moderate to severe UC or acute severe UC (ASUC) from inception to 21st May 2020. Analysis of proportions were undertaken after a freeman-tukey double arcsine transformation. Results The pooled overall colectomy rates of ASUC and moderate to severe UC were 9% (CI: 4% - 14%) at one month, 18% (CI: 13% - 25%) at six months, 21% (CI:16% - 27%) at one year, 29% (CI:24% - 34%) at two years and 38% (CI:30% - 45%) at five years. Additionally, colectomy rates were consistently lower comparing between articles before and after 2010. At one-year, overall colectomy rate following infliximab use was at 25%, golimumab at 15%, vedolizumab at 14%, and adalimumab at 3%. Conclusions Colectomy rates in the era of biologics ranged from 8% to 38% and lower post-2010 showing significant improvement in management and supporting the utility of biologics in Ulcerative colitis management.

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