scholarly journals Health Effects of Air Quality Regulations in Seoul Metropolitan Area: Applying Synthetic Control Method to Controlled Interrupted time Series Analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Kim ◽  
J. Lee ◽  
H. Kim ◽  
G. Byun ◽  
Y. Choi
Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 868 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soo-Yeon Kim ◽  
Hyomi Kim ◽  
Jong-Tae Lee

Despite enormous investment in air-quality regulations, there are only a few studies about the health effects of the air-quality regulations. By applying synthetic control methods to controlled-interrupted time-series analysis, this study aimed to test whether air-quality regulations implemented in Seoul metropolitan area since 2005 had reduced cardiovascular mortality rate in Seoul and Incheon. Each synthetic control for Seoul and Incheon was constructed to predict the counterfactual cardiovascular mortality rate through synthetic control methods. By using a synthetic control as a control group in controlled-interrupted time-series analysis, we tested whether the air-quality regulations had changed the trend of cardiovascular mortality rate in Seoul and Incheon after the intervention. The results showed a significant slope change in cardiovascular mortality rate in Seoul (coefficient: −0.001, 95% confidence interval (CI): −0.0015, −0.0004) and Incheon (coefficient: −0.0006, 95% CI: −0.0012, 0). This study suggests additional evidence that air-quality regulations implemented in the Seoul metropolitan areas since 2005 had beneficial effects on cardiovascular mortality rate in Seoul and Incheon.


Author(s):  
David McDowall ◽  
Richard McCleary ◽  
Bradley J. Bartos

Interrupted Time Series Analysis develops a comprehensive set of models and methods for drawing causal inferences from time series. Example analyses of social, behavioural, and biomedical time series illustrate a general strategy for building AutoRegressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) impact models. The classic Box-Jenkins-Tiao model-building strategy is supplemented with recent auxiliary tests for transformation, differencing and model selection. New developments, including Bayesian hypothesis testing and synthetic control group designs are described and their prospects for widespread adoption are discussed. Example analyses make optimal use of graphical illustrations. Mathematical methods used in the example analyses are explicated assuming only exposure to an introductory statistics course. Design and Analysis of Time Series Experiments (DATSE) and other appropriate authorities are cited for formal proofs. Forty completed example analyses are used to demonstrate the implications of model properties. The example analyses are suitable for use as problem sets for classrooms, workshops, and short-courses.


2018 ◽  
Vol 72 (8) ◽  
pp. 673-678 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janet Bouttell ◽  
Peter Craig ◽  
James Lewsey ◽  
Mark Robinson ◽  
Frank Popham

BackgroundMany public health interventions cannot be evaluated using randomised controlled trials so they rely on the assessment of observational data. Techniques for evaluating public health interventions using observational data include interrupted time series analysis, panel data regression-based approaches, regression discontinuity and instrumental variable approaches. The inclusion of a counterfactual improves causal inference for approaches based on time series analysis, but the selection of a suitable counterfactual or control area can be problematic. The synthetic control method builds a counterfactual using a weighted combination of potential control units.MethodsWe explain the synthetic control method, summarise its use in health research to date, set out its advantages, assumptions and limitations and describe its implementation through a case study of life expectancy following German reunification.ResultsAdvantages of the synthetic control method are that it offers an approach suitable when there is a small number of treated units and control units and it does not rely on parallel preimplementation trends like difference in difference methods. The credibility of the result relies on achieving a good preimplementation fit for the outcome of interest between treated unit and synthetic control. If a good preimplementation fit is established over an extended period of time, a discrepancy in the outcome variable following the intervention can be interpreted as an intervention effect. It is critical that the synthetic control is built from a pool of potential controls that are similar to the treated unit. There is currently no consensus on what constitutes a ‘good fit’ or how to judge similarity. Traditional statistical inference is not appropriate with this approach, although alternatives are available. From our review, we noted that the synthetic control method has been underused in public health.ConclusionsSynthetic control methods are a valuable addition to the range of approaches for evaluating public health interventions when randomisation is impractical. They deserve to be more widely applied, ideally in combination with other methods so that the dependence of findings on particular assumptions can be assessed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanne Martin ◽  
Edwin Amalraj Raja ◽  
Steve Turner

Abstract Background Service reconfiguration of inpatient services in a hospital includes complete and partial closure of all emergency inpatient facilities. The “natural experiment” of service reconfiguration may give insight into drivers for emergency admissions to hospital. This study addressed the question does the prevalence of emergency admission to hospital for children change after reconfiguration of inpatient services? Methods There were five service reconfigurations in Scottish hospitals between 2004 and 2018 where emergency admissions to one “reconfigured” hospital were halted (permanently or temporarily) and directed to a second “adjacent” hospital. The number of emergency admissions (standardised to /1000 children in the regional population) per month to the “reconfigured” and “adjacent” hospitals was obtained for five years prior to reconfiguration and up to five years afterwards. An interrupted time series analysis considered the association between reconfiguration and admissions across pairs comprised of “reconfigured” and “adjacent” hospitals, with adjustment for seasonality and an overall rising trend in admissions. Results Of the five episodes of reconfiguration, two were immediate closure, two involved closure only to overnight admissions and one with overnight closure for a period and then closure. In “reconfigured” hospitals there was an average fall of 117 admissions/month [95% CI 78, 156] in the year after reconfiguration compared to the year before, and in “adjacent” hospitals admissions rose by 82/month [32, 131]. Across paired reconfigured and adjacent hospitals, in the months post reconfiguration, the overall number of admissions to one hospital pair slowed, in another pair admissions accelerated, and admission prevalence was unchanged in three pairs. After reconfiguration in one hospital, there was a rise in admissions to a third hospital which was closer than the named “adjacent” hospital. Conclusions There are diverse outcomes for the number of emergency admissions post reconfiguration of inpatient facilities. Factors including resources placed in the community after local reconfiguration, distance to the “adjacent” hospital and local deprivation may be important drivers for admission pathways after reconfiguration. Policy makers considering reconfiguration might consider a number of factors which may be important determinants of admissions post reconfiguration.


2021 ◽  
pp. 140349482110132
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Konieczna ◽  
Sarah Grube Jakobsen ◽  
Christina Petrea Larsen ◽  
Erik Christiansen

Aim: The aim of this study is to analyse the potential impact from the financial crisis (onset in 2009) on suicide rates in Denmark. The hypothesis is that the global financial crisis raised unemployment which leads to raising the suicide rate in Denmark and that the impact is most prominent in men. Method: This study used an ecological study design, including register data from 2001 until 2016 on unemployment, suicide, gender and calendar time which was analysed using Poisson regression models and interrupted time series analysis. Results: The correlation between unemployment and suicide rates was positive in the period and statistically significant for all, but at a moderate level. A dichotomised version of time (calendar year) showed a significant reduction in the suicide rate for women (incidence rate ratio 0.87, P=0.002). Interrupted time series analysis showed a significant decreasing trend for the overall suicide rate and for men in the pre-recession period, which in both cases stagnated after the onset of recession in 2009. The difference between the genders’ suicide rate changed significantly at the onset of recession, as the rate for men increased and the rate for women decreased. Discussion: The Danish social welfare model might have prevented social disintegration and suicide among unemployed, and suicide prevention programmes might have prevented deaths among unemployed and mentally ill individuals. Conclusions: We found some indications for gender-specific differences from the impact of the financial crises on the suicide rate. We recommend that men should be specifically targeted for appropriate prevention programmes during periods of economic downturn.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document