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Analysing Data (analysing + data)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	50%

Selected Abstracts

Mental health patients in criminal justice populations: needs, treatment and criminal behaviour

CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR AND MENTAL HEALTH, Issue 3 2003
J. Keene PhD Professor of Primary Care
Background Government policy requires that health and social care agencies work more closely together and in partnership with the criminal justice system. There is a well-established relationship between crime and mental disorder. Method The Tracking Project provides for the first time in England the means of collating and analysing data on mental disorder (defined as receiving secondary care as patients of a Mental Health Trust) and crime (defined as all those charged with an offence). Data were collected over a three-year period for all individuals who had contact with the criminal justice system and mental health services in an English county. Results In a county population of 800,400, some 30,329 were offenders. More than a third had used a health or social care service during the three-year period; 8.0% were mentally disordered. Those offenders aged 25,64 and who contacted the police more than once were significantly more likely to be mentally disordered. Type of offence was also a relevant variable. The probation service showed broadly similar results. Discussion The research has provided for the first time substantive quantitative evidence of the relationship between crime and mental disorder. The results can be used as the basis for further work to target assessment and risk reduction measures at those most at risk. Copyright © 2003 Whurr Publishers Ltd. [source]

The effect of fixed-count subsampling on macroinvertebrate biomonitoring in small streams

FRESHWATER BIOLOGY, Issue 2 2000
Craig P. Doberstein
Summary 1When rigorous standards of collecting and analysing data are maintained, biological monitoring adds valuable information to water resource assessments. Decisions, from study design and field methods to laboratory procedures and data analysis, affect assessment quality. Subsampling - a laboratory procedure in which researchers count and identify a random subset of field samples - is widespread yet controversial. What are the consequences of subsampling? 2To explore this question, random subsamples were computer generated for subsample sizes ranging from 100 to 1000 individuals as compared with the results of counting whole samples. The study was done on benthic invertebrate samples collected from five Puget Sound lowland streams near Seattle, WA, USA. For each replicate subsample, values for 10 biological attributes (e.g. total number of taxa) and for the 10-metric benthic index of biological integrity (B-IBI) were computed. 3Variance of each metric and B-IBI for each subsample size was compared with variance associated with fully counted samples generated using the bootstrap algorithm. From the measures of variance, we computed the maximum number of distinguishable classes of stream condition as a function of sample size for each metric and for B-IBI. 4Subsampling significantly decreased the maximum number of distinguishable stream classes for B-IBI, from 8.2 for fully counted samples to 2.8 classes for 100-organism subsamples. For subsamples containing 100,300 individuals, discriminatory power was low enough to mislead water resource decision makers. [source]

ANALYSIS OF COMPLICATIONS FOLLOWING SURGICAL TREATMENT OF BENIGN PAROTID DISEASE,

ANZ JOURNAL OF SURGERY, Issue 3 2008
S. A. Reza Nouraei
Background: The objective of the study was to study the incidence of, and risk factors for developing complications following parotidectomy for benign disease, to improve preoperative patient counselling and better inform future surgical management. Methods: An 11-year retrospective review of 162 parotidectomies for benign disease, collecting and analysing data about presentation, investigations, surgical treatment, postoperative facial nerve function, Frey's syndrome and other surgical complications. Results: The mean age at presentation was 58 years. The commonest pathology was benign pleomorphic adenoma (43%), followed by Warthin's tumour (30%) and chronic sialadenitis (22%). Sialadenitis was a significant risk factor for facial nerve palsy and increased the incidence of salivary fistulas. Parotid duct ligation increased the risk of nerve palsy in the distribution of zygomatic and buccal branches. Operations for Warthin's tumour were associated with an increased risk of dysfunction of the cervical branch of the nerve. Half the patients had intraoperative facial nerve stimulation and this did not influence the likelihood of facial paresis. The recovery of facial nerve function showed a biphasic distribution, with 90% of patients having normal function within 12 months, followed by a slower recovery rate for up to 2 years. Conclusion: The incidence of postoperative complications was influenced by the pathology, with inflammatory lesions significantly increasing the risk of facial nerve dysfunction and other complications, but also by variations in surgical practice, such as parotid duct ligation. Overall, the incidence of permanent facial paralysis was less than 2%, but temporary nerve palsy was common at 40%, with most patients regaining normal function within 1 year of the operation. [source]

The essential role of social theory in qualitative public health research

AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, Issue 5 2007
Karen Willis
Abstract Objective: To define the role of social theory and examine how research studies using qualitative methods can use social theory to generalise their results beyond the setting of the study or to other social groups. Approach: The assumptions underlying public health research using qualitative methods derive from a range of social theories that include conflict theory, structural functionalism, symbolic interactionism, the sociology of knowledge and feminism. Depending on the research problem, these and other social theories provide conceptual tools and models for constructing a suitable research framework, and for collecting and analysing data. In combination with the substantive health literature, the theoretical literature provides the conceptual bridge that links the conclusions of the study to other social groups and settings. Conclusion: While descriptive studies using qualitative research methods can generate important insights into social experience, the use of social theory in the construction and conduct of research enables researchers to extrapolate their findings to settings and groups broader than the ones in which the research was conducted. [source]