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Primary Data Collection (primary + data_collection)
Selected AbstractsImputation of SF-12 Health Scores for Respondents with Partially Missing DataHEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH, Issue 3 2005Honghu Liu Objective. To create an efficient imputation algorithm for imputing the SF-12 physical component summary (PCS) and mental component summary (MCS) scores when patients have one to eleven SF-12 items missing. Study Setting. Primary data collection was performed between 1996 and 1998. Study Design. Multi-pattern regression was conducted to impute the scores using only available SF-12 items (simple model), and then supplemented by demographics, smoking status and comorbidity (enhanced model) to increase the accuracy. A cut point of missing SF-12 items was determined for using the simple or the enhanced model. The algorithm was validated through simulation. Data Collection. Thirty-thousand-three-hundred and eight patients from 63 physician groups were surveyed for a quality of care study in 1996, which collected the SF-12 and other information. The patients were classified as "chronic" patients if they reported that they had diabetes, heart disease, asthma/chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or low back pain. A follow-up survey was conducted in 1998. Principal Findings. Thirty-one percent of the patients missed at least one SF-12 item. Means of variance of prediction and standard errors of the mean imputed scores increased with the number of missing SF-12 items. Correlations between the observed and the imputed scores derived from the enhanced models were consistently higher than those derived from the simple model and the increments were significant for patients with ,6 missing SF-12 items (p<.03). Conclusion. Missing SF-12 items are prevalent and lead to reduced analytical power. Regression-based multi-pattern imputation using the available SF-12 items is efficient and can produce good estimates of the scores. The enhancement from the additional patient information can significantly improve the accuracy of the imputed scores for patients with ,6 items missing, leading to estimated scores that are as accurate as that of patients with <6 missing items. [source] Self-efficacy, social support and service integration at medical cannabis facilities in the San Francisco Bay area of CaliforniaHEALTH & SOCIAL CARE IN THE COMMUNITY, Issue 1 2008Amanda E. Reiman PhD MSW Abstract In an effort to examine and possibly utilise the community-based, bottom-up service design of medical cannabis facilities in the San Francisco Bay area of California, 130 adults who had received medical cannabis recommendations from a physician were surveyed at seven facilities to describe the social service aspects of these unique, community-based programmes. This study used an unselected consecutive sample and cross-sectional survey design that included primary data collection at the medical cannabis facilities themselves. In this exploratory study, individual level data were collected on patient demographics and reported patient satisfaction as gathered by the Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire III. Surveys were filled out onsite. In the case of a refusal, the next person was asked. The refusal rate varied depending on the study site and ranged between 25% and 60%, depending on the facility and the day of sampling. Organisational-level data, such as operating characteristics and products offered, created a backdrop for further examination into the social services offered by these facilities and the attempts made by this largely unregulated healthcare system to create a community-based environment of social support for chronically ill people. Informal assessment suggests that chronic pain is the most common malady for which medical cannabis is used. Descriptive statistics were generated to examine sample- and site-related differences. Results show that medical cannabis patients have created a system of dispensing medical cannabis that also includes services such as counselling, entertainment and support groups , all important components of coping with chronic illness. Furthermore, patients tend to be male, over 35, identify with more than one ethnicity, and earn less than US$20 000 annually. Levels of satisfaction with facility care were fairly high, and higher than nationally reported satisfaction with health care in the USA. Facilities tended to follow a social model of cannabis care, including allowing patients to use medicine onsite and offering social services. This approach has implications for the creation and maintenance of a continuum of care among bottom-up social and health services agencies. [source] Accelerating Malnutrition Reduction in OrissaIDS BULLETIN, Issue 4 2009Mona Sharma Orissa has performed better than the Indian average in terms of the rate of malnutrition reduction. This positive trend is supported by NFHS data, independent survey data and the State's own monitoring data. Despite this good news, absolute rates remain high with 40 per cent of children under five malnourished, rising to 54 per cent amongst the tribal population. Encouraging progress but recognition of a long way to go has triggered the Department of Women and Child Development to develop a new operational plan to accelerate the pace of malnutrition reduction. The Nutrition Plan is based on five principles, the key being targeting the most vulnerable in high burden districts. Review of national and international experience, analysis of the Department's data, plus primary data collection to fill information gaps, have created an evidence-based Plan which provides a challenging but realistic map for reaching an average annual malnutrition reduction of 3.5 percent. [source] SO YOU ALREADY HAVE A SURVEY DATABASE?,A SEVEN-STEP METHODOLOGY FOR THEORY BUILDING FROM SURVEY DATABASES: AN ILLUSTRATION FROM INCREMENTAL INNOVATION GENERATION IN BUYER,SELLER RELATIONSHIPSJOURNAL OF SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2010SUBROTO ROY Across business disciplines, the importance of database research for theory testing continues to increase. The availability of data also has increased, though methods to analyze and interpret these data lag. This research proposes a method for extracting strong measures from survey databases by a progression from qualitative to quantitative techniques. To test the proposed method, this study uses the Industrial Marketing and Purchasing (IMP) survey database, which includes data from firms in several European countries. The proposed method consists of two phases and seven steps, as illustrated in the context of the firm's incremental innovation generation for buyer,seller relationships. This systematic progression moves from a broad but valid empirical case study to the development of a narrow and reliable measure of incremental innovation generation in the IMP database. The proposed method can use supply chain survey databases for theory development without requiring primary data collection, assuming certain conditions. [source] The hybrid economy and anthropological engagements with policy discourse: A brief reflection1THE AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 3 2009Jon Altman This article advocates a crucial role for economic anthropology in the twenty-first century. The use of anthropological techniques for primary data collection is essential for understanding the complexity of diverse local economies. This is demonstrated with reference to a remote Aboriginal economy in Arnhem Land, Northern Australia, using a ,hybrid economy' model that includes the customary sector as well as market and state sectors. This empirically grounded model is contrasted with a very different theoretical construct: the ,real' economy that is dominating Indigenous affairs policy discourse. Although the hybrid economy model is currently subordinated, mainly for ideological reasons, examples are provided to demonstrate its policy and legal influences. [source] | |||||||||||||