scholarly journals Current trends in the application of causal inference methods to pooled longitudinal observational infectious disease studies—A protocol for a methodological systematic review

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. e0250778
Author(s):  
Heather Hufstedler ◽  
Ellicott C. Matthay ◽  
Sabahat Rahman ◽  
Valentijn M. T. de Jong ◽  
Harlan Campbell ◽  
...  

Introduction Pooling (or combining) and analysing observational, longitudinal data at the individual level facilitates inference through increased sample sizes, allowing for joint estimation of study- and individual-level exposure variables, and better enabling the assessment of rare exposures and diseases. Empirical studies leveraging such methods when randomization is unethical or impractical have grown in the health sciences in recent years. The adoption of so-called “causal” methods to account for both/either measured and/or unmeasured confounders is an important addition to the methodological toolkit for understanding the distribution, progression, and consequences of infectious diseases (IDs) and interventions on IDs. In the face of the Covid-19 pandemic and in the absence of systematic randomization of exposures or interventions, the value of these methods is even more apparent. Yet to our knowledge, no studies have assessed how causal methods involving pooling individual-level, observational, longitudinal data are being applied in ID-related research. In this systematic review, we assess how these methods are used and reported in ID-related research over the last 10 years. Findings will facilitate evaluation of trends of causal methods for ID research and lead to concrete recommendations for how to apply these methods where gaps in methodological rigor are identified. Methods and analysis We will apply MeSH and text terms to identify relevant studies from EBSCO (Academic Search Complete, Business Source Premier, CINAHL, EconLit with Full Text, PsychINFO), EMBASE, PubMed, and Web of Science. Eligible studies are those that apply causal methods to account for confounding when assessing the effects of an intervention or exposure on an ID-related outcome using pooled, individual-level data from 2 or more longitudinal, observational studies. Titles, abstracts, and full-text articles, will be independently screened by two reviewers using Covidence software. Discrepancies will be resolved by a third reviewer. This systematic review protocol has been registered with PROSPERO (CRD42020204104).

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
LAYSCE ROCHA DE MOURA ◽  
SYLMARA LOPES FRANCELINO GONÇALVES DIAS ◽  
LUCIANO ANTONIO PRATES JUNQUEIRA

Abstract This study aims to identify articles focused on the waste picker’s health to support the construction of an analytical framework that considers the individual and the environment in the scope of their labor activity. For this purpose, it is intended to answer the following question: which aspects can be considered in the analysis of the waste picker’s health in their labor activity? Methodologically, it has an exploratory nature and use the Systematic Review of Literature. The results pointed out to four categories of analysis grouped into the following aspects: meanings, individual, activity and environment. The analytical framework proposed presents contributions for an extended understanding of waste picker’s health, its aspects and interrelationships. Finally, it is suggested that empirical studies could be carried out to validate the proposed structure.


2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (10) ◽  
pp. 2036-2060 ◽  
Author(s):  
JULIA MENICHETTI ◽  
PIETRO CIPRESSO ◽  
DARIO BUSSOLIN ◽  
GUENDALINA GRAFFIGNA

ABSTRACTIn 2002, the World Health Organization emphasised the concept of active ageing to manage and increase the last third of life. Although many efforts have been made to optimise treatment management, less attention has been paid to health promotion initiatives. To date, few shared guidelines exist that promote an active life in healthy older targets. To fill this gap, we conducted a systematic review to map health promotion interventions that targeted an active and healthy ageing among older citizens. Articles containing the key term active ageing and seven synonyms were searched for in the electronic databases. Because we were interested in actions aimed to promote healthier lifestyles, we connected the string with the term health. A total of 3,918 titles were retrieved and 20 articles were extracted. Twelve of the 20 studies used group interventions, five interventions targeted the individual level and three interventions targeted the community level. Interventions differed for the health focus of the programmes, which ranged from physical activity interventions to social participation or cognitive functioning. Most of the studies aimed to act on psychological components. The review suggests that different interventions promoted for active ageing are effective in improving specific healthy and active lifestyles; however, no studies were concerned directly with a holistic process of citizen health engagement to improve long-term outcomes.


2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 75-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fatemeh Rezaei ◽  
Michael Beyerlein

Purpose The purpose of this study is to identify and examine findings from empirical research regarding organizations’ talent development (TD) strategies, taking into consideration the countries in which the studies were conducted and the TD-approach organizations adopted, and recognize the positive outcomes of TD implementation, as well as potential issues and challenges. Design/methodology/approach This systematic literature review used Garrard’s matrix method to organize the review of publications. It identified 31 empirical articles from the total of 551 publications. Findings The findings indicate that a majority of the studies were conducted in countries other than the USA and that they were all published recently, after 2007. The results show that organizations have mostly applied organizational development interventions at the individual level for developing talented employees, followed by formal training and development. Additionally, managerial issues were identified as the most common issue on the way of implementing TD interventions. Research limitations/implications Trying to define TD as a discrete concept from HRD could be considered as both differentiating the current literature review and a limitation. Originality/value This article is among the first to identify TD interventions through a systematic literature review and provides a model of TD’s intervention antecedents and outcomes for the follow-up empirical works.


2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 537-570
Author(s):  
Pedro Jácome de Moura Jr ◽  
Carlo Gabriel Porto Bellini

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to review three decades of the literature on flow measurement and propose issues to advance research on the measurement of social flow at work. Design/methodology/approach In a systematic literature review, the authors analyzed 143 articles published in the first three decades (1983–2013) of scholarly publications on flow measurement, of which 84 articles used scales to measure flow and 16 articles used scales to measure flow at work. Findings The main findings are: flow is frequently measured in association with other constructs or by means of proxies; flow measurement is highly dependent on a study’s purposes and context; flow is mostly studied at the level of the individual and, when studied beyond the individual, the measurement of flow in groups is simplified as an aggregation of individual-level measures; and social flow at work is an underresearched construct that nevertheless impacts organizations in important ways, thus deserving a specific research agenda. Research limitations/implications The first limitation refers to the databases included in the review. There is always the possibility that important works were ignored. Another limitation is that the coding procedure was highly dependent on the authors’ discretion, as it did not include independent coding and formal assessment of agreement among coders. But the greatest limitation may refer to our very perspectives on flow, flow measurement and social flow at work, as they are highly attached to current models instead of seeing the issues with different lenses. This limitation is also present in the literature. Practical implications Reviewing three decades of scholarly publications on how flow has been measured contributes to organizations in their planning for person-job fit. The measurement of flow can reveal if and when flow correlates with personal characteristics and organizational events, thus serving to inform initiatives on personnel development, acculturation and job design. However, considering that flow as a social phenomenon has been conceived in superficial terms, that a vast number of empirical studies were developed with non-professional subjects, and that flow measurement involves significant adaptations to each situation, organizations are thus advised to be careful in adopting extant instruments. Originality/value This study provides a rich account on how flow measurement has been addressed in the scholarly literature, and it calls attention to research opportunities on social flow at work.


2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neus Feliu ◽  
Isabel C. Botero

Philanthropy in family enterprises operates at the crossroads of family, business, and society. Most of the research in this area is approached from the business or the individual level; thus, we have a fragmented understanding of philanthropy in family enterprises. This article presents a systematic review of the literature on the subject. Based on 55 sources published between 1988 and 2014, we explain the drivers of this behavior, the vehicles used to practice it, and the outcomes tied to the practice of philanthropy in family enterprises. We identify gaps in our understanding and provide ideas for future research.


2020 ◽  
pp. 109980042096888
Author(s):  
Rosa M. Gonzalez-Guarda ◽  
Allison M. Stafford ◽  
Gabriela A. Nagy ◽  
Deanna R. Befus ◽  
Jamie L. Conklin

The health of Latinx immigrants decays over time and across generations. Acculturation stress influences decays in behavioral and mental health in this population, but the effect on physical health outcomes is less understood. This systematic review synthesizes findings from 22 studies that examined the influence of acculturation stress on physical health outcomes among Latinx populations in the United States. The Society-to-Cell Resilience Framework was used to synthesize findings according to individual, physiological, and cellular levels. There is mounting evidence identifying acculturation stress as an important social contributor to negative physical health outcomes, especially at the individual level. More research is needed to identify the physiological and cellular mechanisms involved. Interventions are also needed to address the damaging effects of acculturation stress on a variety of physical health conditions in this population.


2016 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 603-627 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Verboord ◽  
Amanda Brandellero

This study offers a cross-national multilayered analysis of music flows between 1960 and 2010. Advancing on previous empirical studies of cultural globalization, it attends to the global and country level, while adding the individual level of music flows. Concretely, the authors analyze the international composition of pop charts in nine countries by (a) mapping trends, (b) comparing countries, and (c) conducting multivariate analyses. The results show that pop charts increasingly contain foreign music, with the exception of the United States. Explanatory analyses of foreign success confirm that limited cultural distance results in greater flow as found in film and television studies, while revealing additional positive impacts of centrality of production (e.g., artists from more “central” countries in music production are more likely to chart abroad) and the “star power” of artists. Both the innovative methodological approach and findings of this article offer promising research avenues for globalization, media industry, and celebrity studies.


2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saggi Nevo ◽  
InduShobha Chengalur-Smith

Purpose Our knowledge of why organizations continue to use open source software (OSS) infrastructure technologies is relatively limited, and existing models appear inadequate to explain this continuance phenomenon given that they are set at the individual level and also do not take into account the unique characteristics of OSS. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach Using an institutional perspective, this paper posits that coercive (business value of IT) and normative (open source ideology (IDEO)) factors may be credited with sustaining the continued use of OSS technologies. The study argues that organizations that subscribe to IDEO are more likely to continue using OSS technologies. Survey data are collected from organizations that have implemented an OSS infrastructure technology and a moderated multiple regression analysis is performed to test the proposed hypotheses. Findings In addition to the business value provided by OSS technologies, adherence to IDEO also impacts decisions to continue using those technologies. The results suggest that once an OSS is implemented in an organization, IDEO can enhance organizations’ intentions to continue using such technologies, directly, as well as indirectly, by amplifying the impact of the perceived business value of the technology. Originality/value Much of extant literature on continued use focuses on end-user technologies. This paper is one of the first to focus on infrastructure technologies and examine organizations’ intentions to continue using those technologies by developing a parsimonious theory-driven model for examining organizations’ continued use intentions toward infrastructure IT. Additionally, much of open source research to date has been inwardly focused, and this paper is one of few empirical studies to focus on the demand or consumption side of OSS technologies.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduardo Estrada

Identifying change at the individual level is an important goal for researchers, educators, and clinicians. We present a set of statistical procedures for identifying individuals who depart from a normative change. Using Latent Change Scores models (LCS), we illustrate how the Individual Likelihood computed from a statistical model for change (IL) and from an alternative unrestricted model (ILsat) can be used to identify atypical trajectories in situations with several measurement occasions. Using LCS and linear regression, we also show how the observed and latent change residuals can be used to identify atypical individual change between 2 measurement occasions. We apply these methods to a measure of general verbal ability (from WISC–R), from a large sample of individuals assessed every 2 years from Grade 1 to 9. We demonstrate the efficiency of these techniques, illustrate their use to identify individual change in longitudinal data, and discuss potential applications in developmental research.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 464
Author(s):  
Martín García-Parra ◽  
Francisca Negre ◽  
Sebastià Verger

Resilience is understood as interactive processes that strengthen the individual and the family in the face of the demands of adversity or vulnerable situation. Resilience is fostered from a psychopedagogical approach when practices are developed that assist in facing challenges positively, having life projects and developing academic potentialities. Thus, the objective of this systematic review of the literature is cartography programs that promote resilience in children, adolescents, or youths who are facing a challenging condition, such as a disease or disability. The PRISMA declaration was used to guide this systematic search. The databases consulted were Web of Science, Scopus, EBSCOhost, ERIC and Dialnet Plus. Open access articles were selected between 2016 and 2021. The selection resulted in 15 educational programs. The results indicate that there are several models for building resilience, such as ecosystem, family, community, and academic models. In conclusion, interdisciplinarity is a cross-cutting axis for enhancing resilience in vulnerable settings.


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