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Showing posts with label Public Health General. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Public Health General. Show all posts

Monday

Does condom social marketing improve health outcomes and increase usage and equitable access?

 

Knerr, Wendy

Reproductive Health Matters, Volume: 19 Source Issue: 37

Abstract: Condom social marketing (CSM) has increased condom supplies, broadened commercial markets for condoms and introduced marketing innovations in developing countries. Yet rigorous and reliable evidence of the impact on condom usage and disease prevention is limited, as is evidence of the impact on equity of access to condoms for poor populations, women and people living with HIV. One strand of research on CSM reports mostly on output (e.g. sales and processes) and market growth; but these have been found to be highly unreliable measures of condom usage. Another strand of research reports primarily on changes in sexual behaviour, attitude or condom usage, using survey data. While random sampling is rare, these studies often use representative samples, which provide some measure of validity. There have been attempts to improve the reliability or results to good effect, but challenges remain for researchers, scholars and donors, including the need to supplement output data with measures of behaviour change, use rigorous designs which are built into programmes a priori, report on equity measures, report on potential harms of CSM programmes, and encourage external and systematic reviews.
Keywords: condoms, social marketing, evidence-based medicine, equity and access

Friday

Learning to react to ‘deviant’ labels and defending self image

Now we all agree that deviance is neither an inborn characteristic nor a sin. It is socially learnt. In alcohol research, the view that alcoholism is a learnt practice has rarely been addressed. Even rarer is the emphasis on how ‘deviants’ react to the label imposed upon them. One important suggestion comes from the well-known article by Sykes and Matza (1957) who described 'techniques of neutralizations', or ways of explaining ‘deviant behaviours’ in socially acceptable manner. Certainly, people learn these techniques in the socialisation process. The authors said: 'Unfortunately, the specific content of what is learnt - as opposed to the process by which it is learnt - has received relatively little attention in either theory and research'. Importantly, these techniques much be described by the people who are researched rather the researcher.
 

Monday

Understanding Public Health

There is an increasing global awareness of the inevitable limits of individual health care and of the need to complement such services with effective public health strategies. Understanding Public Health is an innovative series of twenty books, published by Open University Press in collaboration with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. It provides self-directed learning covering the major issues in public health affecting low, middle and high income countries.

The series is aimed at those studying public health, either by distance learning or more traditional methods, as well as public health practitioners and policy makers.

Series Editor(s)
Nick Black
Rosalind Raine

  • Conflict and Health
    ISBN: 0335243797 - By: HOWARD
    Edition: 01 - Pub Date: 01-OCT-12
    Price: $49 US
    - Format: Paperback
  • Sexual Health: A Public Health Perspective
    ISBN: 0335244815 - By: WELLINGS
    Edition: 01 - Pub Date: 01-OCT-12
    Price: $49 US
    - Format: Paperback
  • Making Health Policy
    ISBN: 0335246346 - By: BUSE
    Edition: 02 - Pub Date: 01-JUL-12
    Price: $49 US
    - Format: Paperback
  • Public Health in History
    ISBN: 0335242642 - By: BERRIDGE
    Edition: 01 - Pub Date: 01-OCT-11
    Price: $45 US
    - Format: Paperback
  • Issues in Public Health
    ISBN: 033524422X - By: SIM
    Edition: 02 - Pub Date: 01-OCT-11
    Price: $49 US
    - Format: Paperback
  • Introduction to Epidemiology
    ISBN: 0335244610 - By: CARNEIRO
    Edition: 02 - Pub Date: 01-OCT-11
    Price: $49 US
    - Format: Paperback
  • Introduction to Health Economics
    ISBN: 0335243568 - By: GUINNESS
    Edition: 02 - Pub Date: 01-OCT-11
    Price: $49 US
    - Format: Paperback
  • Environmental Health Policy
    ISBN: 0335218431 - By: BALL
    Edition: 01 - Pub Date: 01-DEC-06
    Price: $60 US
    - Format: Paperback
  • Health Promotion Practice
    ISBN: 0335218407 - By: MACDOWALL
    Edition: 01 - Pub Date: 01-NOV-06
    Price: $60 US
    - Format: Paperback
  • Controlling Communicable Disease
    ISBN: 033521844X - By: NOAH
    Edition: 01 - Pub Date: 01-JUN-06
    Price: $60 US
    - Format: Paperback
  • Environment, Health and Sustainable Development
    ISBN: 0335218415 - By: LANDON
    Edition: 01 - Pub Date: 01-MAR-06
    Price: $49 US
    - Format: Paperback
  • Environmental Epidemiology
    ISBN: 0335218423 - By: WILKINSON
    Edition: 01 - Pub Date: 01-MAR-06
    Price: $60 US
    - Format: Paperback
  • Analytical Models for Decision-Making with CD
    ISBN: 0335218458 - By: SANDERSON
    Edition: 01 - Pub Date: 01-MAR-06
    Price: $57.95 US
    - Format: Soft back with CD
  • Health Promotion Theory
    ISBN: 0335218377 - By: DAVIES
    Edition: 01 - Pub Date: 01-DEC-05
    Price: $49 US
    - Format: Paperback
  • Managing Health Services
    ISBN: 0335218520 - By: GOODWIN
    Edition: 01 - Pub Date: 01-DEC-05
    Price: $60 US
    - Format: Paperback
  • Global Change and Health
    ISBN: 0335218482 - By: LEE
    Edition: 01 - Pub Date: 01-NOV-05
    Price: $49 US
    - Format: Paperback
  • Health Care Evaluation
    ISBN: 0335218490 - By: SMITH
    Edition: 01 - Pub Date: 01-NOV-05
    Price: $60 US
    - Format: Paperback
  • Economic Evaluation
    ISBN: 0335218474 - By: FOX-RUSHBY
    Edition: 01 - Pub Date: 01-NOV-05
    Price: $60 US
    - Format: Paperback
  • Financial Management in Health Services
    ISBN: 0335218512 - By: GRUEN
    Edition: 01 - Pub Date: 01-SEP-05
    Price: $60 US
    - Format: Paperback
  • Medical Anthropology
    ISBN: 0335218504 - By: POOL
    Edition: 01 - Pub Date: 01-SEP-05
    Price: $49 US
    - Format: Paperback
  • Introduction to Epidemiology
    ISBN: 0335218334 - By: BAILEY
    Edition: 01 - Pub Date: 01-SEP-05
    Price: $49 US
    - Format: Paperback
  • Economic Analysis for Management and Policy
    ISBN: 0335218466 - By: JAN
    Edition: 01 - Pub Date: 01-SEP-05
    Price: $55.95 US
    - Format: Paperback
  • Understanding Health Services
    ISBN: 0335218385 - By: BLACK
    Edition: 01 - Pub Date: 01-AUG-05
    Price: $57.95 US
    - Format: Paperback
  • Issues in Public Health
    ISBN: 0335218369 - By: POMERLEAU
    Edition: 01 - Pub Date: 01-AUG-05
    Price: $60 US
    - Format: Paperback
  • Principles of Social Research
    ISBN: 0335218350 - By: GREEN
    Edition: 01 - Pub Date: 01-AUG-05
    Price: $60 US
    - Format: Paperback
  • Introduction to Health Economics
    ISBN: 0335218342 - By: WONDERLING
    Edition: 01 - Pub Date: 01-AUG-05
    Price: $49 US
    - Format: Paperback
  • Making Health Policy
    ISBN: 0335218393 - By: BUSE
    Edition: 01 - Pub Date: 01-AUG-05
    Price: $49 US
    - Format: Paperback
  • Thursday

    Acculturation stress and substance use and abuse

    Adrian, M. (2002). A critical perspective on cross-cultural contexts for addiction and multiculturalism: their meanings and implications in the substance use field. Substance Use & Misuse, 37(8-10), 853-900.

    Anderson, L. P. (1991). Acculturative stress: A theory of relevance to black Americans. Clinical Psychology Review, 11(6), 685-702.

    Ayers, J. W., Chambers, C. D., Hofstetter, C. R., Hughes, S. C., Reyes, W. D., Kang, S. W., et al. (2011). Cultural and social network predictors of drinking among Korean American women. Alcohol, 45(1), 89-97.

    Bakhireva, L. N., Young, B. N., Dalen, J., Phelan, S. T., & Rayburn, W. F. (2009). Periconceptional binge drinking and acculturation among pregnant Latinas in New Mexico. Alcohol, 43(6), 475-481. doi: 10.1016/j.alcohol.2009.08.002

    Berry, J. (2004). Acculturation. In S. Charles (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Applied Psychology (pp. 27-34). New York: Elsevier.

    Berry, J. (2006). Contexts of acculturation. In D. Sam & J. Berry (Eds.), The Cambride handbook of acculturation psychology (pp. 27-42). Cambride: Cambride University Press.

    Berry, J. W. (2005). Acculturation: Living successfully in two cultures. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 29(6), 697-712.

    Berry, J. W., & Ataca, B. (2007). Cultural Factors in Stress. In M. Bruce, E. R. d. Kloet, R. Robert, C. George, S. Andrew, R. Noel & C. Ian (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Stress (Second Edition) (pp. 672-678). New York: Academic Press.

    Caetano, R., Clack, C., & Tam, T. (1998). Alcohol consumption among racial/ethnic minorities: theory and research. Alcohol Health & Research World, 22(4), 233-242.

    Dawson, D. A. (1998). Beyond Black, White and Hispanic: Race, Ethnic Origin and Drinking Patterns in the United States. Journal of Substance Abuse, 10(4), 321-339. doi: 10.1016/s0899-3289(99)00009-7

    Eitle, T. M., Wahl, A.-M. G., & Aranda, E. (2009). Immigrant generation, selective acculturation, and alcohol use among Latina/o adolescents. Social Science Research, 38(3), 732-742.

    Gordon, M. (1964). Assimilation in American life: the role of race, religion and national origins. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Gutmann, M. C. (1999). Ethnicity, alcohol, and acculturation. Social Science & Medicine, 48(2), 173-184.

    Haasen, C., Sinaa, M., & Reimer, J. (2008). Alcohol use disorders among Afghan migrants in Germany. Subst Abus, 29(3), 65-70.

    Hanna, J. M., & Fitzgerald, M. H. (1993). Acculturation and symptoms: A comparative study of reported health symptoms in three Samoan communities. Social Science and Medicine, 36(9), 1169-1180. doi: 10.1016/0277-9536(93)90237-x

    Hasin, D., Rahav, G., Meydan, J., & Neumark, Y. (1998). The Drinking of Earlier and More Recent Russian Immigrants to Israel: Comparison to Other Israelis. Journal of Substance Abuse, 10(4), 341-353. doi: 10.1016/s0899-3289(99)00010-3

    Hendershot, C. S., Dliworth, T. M., Neighbors, C., & George, W. H. (2008). Differential effects of acculturation on drinking behavior in Chinese- and Korean-American college students. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 69(1), 121-128.

    Kirmayer, L. J. (1994). Suicide Among Canadian Aboriginal Peoples. Transcultural Psychiatry, 31(1), 3-58. doi: 10.1177/136346159403100101

    Landrine, H., & Klonoff, E. A. (2004). Culture change and ethnic-minority health behavior: An operant theory of acculturation. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 27(6), 527-555.

    Lee, J.-S., Koeske, G. F., & Sales, E. (2004). Social support buffering of acculturative stress: a study of mental health symptoms among Korean international students. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 28(5), 399-414.

    Makimoto, K. (1998). Drinking patterns and drinking problems among Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders. Alcohol Health & Research World, 22(4), 270-275.

    Mino, I., Profit, W. E., & Pierce, C. M. (2007). Minorities and Stress. In M. Editor-in-Chief:  George FinkAssociate Editors:Bruce, E. R. d. Kloet, R. Robert, C. George, S. Andrew, R. Noel, C. Ian & E. R. d. K. R. R. G. C. A. S. N. R. I. C. G. F. Giora FeuersteinA2 - Editor-in-Chief:  George FinkAssociate Editors:Bruce McEwen (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Stress (Second Edition) (pp. 748-753). New York: Academic Press.

    Neff, J. A., & Hoppe, S. K. (1992). Acculturation and drinking patterns among U.S. Anglos, Blacks, and Mexican Americans. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 27(3), 293-308.

    O'Hare, T., & Van Tran, T. (1998). Substance abuse among Southeast Asians in the US: Implications for practice and research. Social Work in Health Care, 26(3), 69-80.

    Perez, D. M., Jennings, W. G., & Gover, A. R. (2008). Specifying general strain theory: An ethnically relevant approach. Deviant Behavior, 29(6), 544-578. doi: 10.1080/01639620701839385

    Polednak, A. P. (1997). Gender and acculturation in relation to alcohol use among Hispanic (Latino) adults in two areas of the northeastern United States. Substance Use & Misuse, 32(11), 1513-1524.

    Quintero, G. (2002). Nostalgia and Degeneration: The Moral Economy of Drinking in Navajo Society. Medical Anthropology Quarterly, 16(1), 3-21.

    Raffaelli, M., Torres Stone, R. A., Iturbide, M. I., McGinley, M., Carlo, G., & Crockett, L. J. (2007a). Acculturation, gender, and alcohol use among Mexican American college students. Addictive Behaviors, 32(10), 2187-2199. doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2007.02.014

    Raffaelli, M., Torres Stone, R. A., Iturbide, M. I., McGinley, M., Carlo, G., & Crockett, L. J. (2007b). Aculturation, gender, and alcohol use among Mexican American college students. Addictive Behaviors, 32(10), 2187-2199.

    Redfield, R., Linton, R., J., M., & Herskovits, M. J. (1936). Memorandum for the study of acculturation. American Anthropologist, 38(1), 149-152.

    Sakai, J. T., Ho, P. M., Shore, J. H., Risk, N. K., & Price, R. K. (2005). Asians in the United States: substance dependence and use of substance-dependence treatment. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 29(2), 75-84. doi: 10.1016/j.jsat.2005.04.002

    Sam, D. (2006). Acculturation: conceptual background and core components. In D. Sam & J. Berry (Eds.), The Cambride handbook of acculturation psychology (pp. 11-26). Cambride: Cambride University Press.

    Schwartz, S. J., Unger, J. B., Rosiers, S. E. D., Huang, S., Baezconde-Garbanati, L., Lorenzo-Blanco, E. I., et al. (2012). Substance use and sexual behavior among recent Hispanic immigrant adolescents: Effects of parent–adolescent differential acculturation and communication. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 125, Supplement 1(0), S26-S34. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2012.05.020

    Sharkey, J. D., Sander, J. B., & Jimerson, S. R. (2010). Acculturation and mental health: Response to a culturally-centered delinquency intervention. Journal of Criminal Justice, 38(4), 827-834. doi: 10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2010.05.011

    Song, Y. J., Hofstetter, C. R., Hovell, M. F., Paik, H. Y., Park, H. R., Lee, J., et al. (2004). Acculturation and health risk behaviors among Californians of Korean descent. Preventive Medicine, 39(1), 147-156. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2004.01.013

    Strunin, L., Edwards, E. M., Godette, D. C., & Heeren, T. (2007). Country of origin, age of drinking onset, and drinking patterns among Mexican American young adults. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 91(2–3), 134-140. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2007.05.013

    Teske, R., & Nelson, B. (1974). Acculturation and Assimilation: A Clarification. American Ethnologist, 1(2), 351-367.

    Tonin, S. L., Burrow-Sanchez, J. J., Harrison, R. S., & Kircher, J. C. (2008). The influence of attitudes, acculturation, and gender on substance use for Mexican American middle school students. Addictive Behaviors, 33(7), 949-954. doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2008.02.014

    Vaeth, P. A. C., Caetano, R., & Rodriguez, L. A. (2012). The Hispanic Americans Baseline Alcohol Survey (HABLAS): The association between acculturation, birthplace and alcohol consumption across Hispanic national groups. Addictive Behaviors, 37(9), 1029-1037. doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2012.04.015

    Warner, T. D., Fishbein, D. H., & Krebs, C. P. (2010). The risk of assimilating? Alcohol use among immigrant and U.S.-born Mexican youth. Social Science Research, 39(1), 176-186. doi: 10.1016/j.ssresearch.2009.07.001

    Williams, J., Allen, J., & Ortega, S. (1990). Dimensions of ethnic assimilation: an empirical appraisal of Gordon's typology. Social Science Quarterly, 71(4), 697-710.

    Wong, S. K. (1999). Acculturation, peer relations, and delinquent behavior of Chinese-Canadian youth. Adolescence, 34(133), 107-119.

    Zamboanga, B. L., Raffaelli, M., & Horton, N. J. (2006). Acculturation status and heavy alcohol use among Mexican American college students: Investigating the moderating role of gender. Addictive Behaviors, 31(12), 2188-2198. doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2006.02.018

    Zemore, S. E., Mulia, N., Yu, Y., Borges, G., & Greenfield, T. K. (2009). Gender, acculturation, and other barriers to alcohol treatment utilization among Latinos in three National Alcohol Surveys. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 36(4), 446-456.

    Tuesday

    Sexual scripts–William Simon and John Gagnon 1984

     

    A good article on sexual behaviour, social learning, socialization of sexual behaviour.

    Look for Culture, Health, and Sexuality, second edition

    SimonGagnon1984_1

    SimonGagnon1984_2

    SimonGagnon1984_3

    SimonGagnon1984_4

    SimonGagnon1984_5

    SimonGagnon1984_6

    SimonGagnon1984_7

    SimonGagnon1984_8

    Wednesday

    Scientists discover more genes linked to diabetes

    An international team of scientists has identified six new genes associated with type 2 diabetes, raising to 16 the total number of genes found to be implicated in diabetes. Intriguingly, one of the newly identified genes has also been shown to play a role in the development of prostate cancer.
    'None of the genes we have found was previously on the radar screen of diabetes researchers,' commented Professor Mark McCarthy of the University of Oxford in the UK. 'Each of these genes therefore provides new clues to the processes that go wrong when diabetes develops, and each provides an opportunity for the generation of new approaches for treating or preventing this condition.'
    Over 200 million people around the world suffer from type 2 diabetes, which is characterised by a breakdown in the systems which control blood sugar levels, leading to abnormally high levels of glucose in the blood. Exposure to high levels of glucose over many years is damaging to our vital organs, and in many countries type 2 diabetes is a leading cause of heart disease and stroke as well as blindness, kidney failure and amputations not related to accidents.
    It most commonly affects overweight, sedentary people over the age of 40, although recent years have seen growing numbers of younger people developing the disease.
    In this latest study, over 90 researchers from more than 40 centres in Europe and the US analysed genetic data from some 70,000 people in the hunt for small differences in the genetic code which could make some people more susceptible to developing type 2 diabetes than others. The work, which was partly funded by the EU, is published online in the journal Nature Genetics.
    In total the scientists were able to identify six genetic variants associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. The findings support previous research which suggests that a major element in the development of type 2 diabetes is a failure to regulate the number of insulin-producing cells in the pancreas.
    'These new variants, along with other recent genetic findings, provide a window into disease causation that may be our best hope for the next generation of therapeutics,' said Francis S Collins, Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute in the US. 'By pinpointing particular pathways involved in diabetes risk, these discoveries can empower new approaches to understanding environmental influences and to the development of new, more precisely targeted drugs.'
    The researchers underline the fact that each of these genes only increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by a small amount, and although their combined effects may be stronger, it is likely to be some time before genetic testing can be used to give predictions of disease risk in individual patients.
    'Once we more fully understand the large numbers of genes now implicated in diabetes risk, it might become possible to identify people at particularly high risk before the disease takes root,' explained Professor David Altshuler of the Broad Institute of Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US. 'However, until we have evidence that using such information results in better health outcomes, widespread genetic testing would be premature.'
    One surprise thrown up by the results was the finding that one of the genes found to be implicated in diabetes, JAZF1, has also been shown to play a role in prostate cancer. In fact JAZF1 is the second gene to be linked to both diseases; earlier research revealed that a single variant of a gene called HNF1B is associated with an increased risk of diabetes but a decreased risk of prostate cancer. In the case of JAZF1, the diabetes and prostate cancer variants are found in different parts of the gene and there is no known relationship between them.
    'Genetic studies of this kind are revealing new and unsuspected connections between diseases,' said Dr Eleftheria Zeggini of the University of Oxford. 'This is now the second example of a gene which affects both type 2 diabetes and prostate cancer. We don't yet know what the connections are, but this has important implications for the future design of drugs for these conditions.'
    EU support for the research came from the EU-funded EURODIA ('Functional genomics of pancreatic beta cells and of tissues involved in control of the endocrine pancreas for prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes') and EUGENE2 ('European network on functional genomics of type 2 diabetes'), both of which are financed through the 'Life sciences, genomics and biotechnology for health' thematic area of the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6).

    Contact person:

    For more information, please visit:
    http://www.nature.com/naturegenetics
    http://www.wellcome.ac.uk

    Friday

    Medical Ethics: A very short introduction

    Issues in medical ethics are rarely out of the media and it is an area of ethics that has particular interest for the general public as well as the medical practitioner. This short and accessible introduction provides an invaluable tool with which to think about the ethical values that lie at the heart of medicine. Tony Hope deals with the thorny moral questions such as euthanasia and the morality of killing, and also explores political questions such as: how should health care resources be distributed fairly? Each chapter in this book considers a different issue: genetics, modern reproductive technologies, resource allocation, mental health, medical research, and discusses controversial questions such as: DT Who should have access to reproductive technology? Who should pay? DT Is it right to fund expensive drug treatment for individuals? DT Should active euthanasia be legalized? DT Should treatment for mental illness be imposed on patients without their consent? DT Who should have access to information from genetic testing? DT Should we require consent for use of dead bodies or organs in medical research?

    estate housing

    Wednesday

    Odds and Odds Ratio

    odds   The statistical calculation of the number of events as a fraction of nonevents or as a fraction of all that are theoretically possible. For instance, in the roll of a six-sided die, the odds that a specific number will roll to the top are 1 in 6.

    How to cite this entry:
    "odds"  A Dictionary of Public Health. Ed. John M. Last, Oxford University Press, 2007. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press.  Copenhagen University Library.  13 February 2008  http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t235.e3185

     

    odds ratio   Syn: cross-products ratio. Strictly speaking, the ratio of two odds, but as used in the analysis of data from a case control study, a simple calculation that yields an approximate value for the relative risk of the exposure that has been examined in a case control study. The odds ratio is best explained in a simple table. Exposed Not exposed Disease a bNo disease c d The odds ratio is ad/bc. The odds ratio yields an approximation of relative risk that is valid for rare and uncommon diseases but not for diseases with an incidence rate greater than about 1/100.

    How to cite this entry:
    "odds ratio"  A Dictionary of Public Health. Ed. John M. Last, Oxford University Press, 2007. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press.  Copenhagen University Library.  13 February 2008  <http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t235.e3186>

    Qualitative analysis

    From Public Health:

    qualitative analysis Analysis that relies on descriptive accounts of behavior, beliefs, feelings, or values, with few or no numerical data available for statistical analysis. The qualitative method consists of critical scrutiny of all the available descriptive material, somewhat in the manner used by lawyers and judges in the courts when they weigh the evidence and arrive at a decision. The method is sometimes criticized on the grounds that it relies on subjective judgments rather than objective measurement, but if observational evidence is assessed without emotional value judgments, it can be a useful, reproducible method. It is sometimes a preliminary to or may lead to quantitative research or alternatively may help to make sense of statistical associations.

    How to cite this entry:
    "qualitative analysis"  A Dictionary of Public Health. Ed. John M. Last, Oxford University Press, 2007. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press.  Copenhagen University Library.  13 February 2008  http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t235.e3743

    Validity and Reliability

     

    validity   The extent to which a measurement actually measures what it purports to measure or an entity actually is what it purports to be. There are several kinds of validity. Criterion validity is the extent to which a measured variable or an entity correlates with an external criterion of the phenomenon under study. This has two aspects: concurrent validity means that the measurement and the criterion refer to the same time and place; predictive validity is the ability to predict the criterion. Construct validity is the extent to which measurements conform to theoretical concepts or constructs. Content validity is the extent to which measurements incorporate the domain of the phenomenon under study. Study validity is the degree to which the inferences from a scientific study are warranted, taking into account the strengths and weaknesses of the study design. This has two aspects: internal validity, the degree to which observations may be attributed solely to the hypothesized effect that is being studied, and external validity, which is the extent to which the findings of a study can be generalized.

    How to cite this entry:
    "validity"  A Dictionary of Public Health. Ed. John M. Last, Oxford University Press, 2007. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press.  Copenhagen University Library.  13 February 2008  http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t235.e4676

     

    reliability   Syn: reproducibility. The characteristic by which a measuring instrument or procedure yields a series of identical or closely similar measurements of the same variable that is repeatedly measured by the same observer using the same instrument or procedure. See also replication and reproducibility.

    How to cite this entry:
    "reliability"  A Dictionary of Public Health. Ed. John M. Last, Oxford University Press, 2007. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press.  Copenhagen University Library.  13 February 2008  http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t235.e3869

     

    ------

    replication 1. The process of repeating an experiment or observation, perhaps many times, by different observers, to confirm or refute findings of original experiments or observations. It is an important property of all sound science that experiments and observations can be replicated, to help establish validity of observations and conclusions, conforming to the scientific criterion of reproducibility. It is a sine qua non of good scientific practice to make full details of research protocols readily available, to facilitate replication by other scientists.
    2. In virology, replication is the multiplication of organisms.

    How to cite this entry:
    "replication"  A Dictionary of Public Health. Ed. John M. Last, Oxford University Press, 2007. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press.  Copenhagen University Library.  13 February 2008  http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t235.e3879

     

    reproducibility   The quality of an experiment or test wherein repetition under identical or similar circumstances gives the same or a closely similar result to that achieved on the first occasion. See also reliability and repeatability.

    How to cite this entry:
    "reproducibility"  A Dictionary of Public Health. Ed. John M. Last, Oxford University Press, 2007. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press.  Copenhagen University Library.  13 February 2008  <http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t235.e3882>

    Accuracy, Precision and Validity in Public Health

     

     

     

    accuracy   The degree to which a measurement or an estimate based on measurement represents the true value of the attribute being measured. Not to be confused with precision or validity.

    How to cite this entry:
    "accuracy"  A Dictionary of Public Health. Ed. John M. Last, Oxford University Press, 2007. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press.  Copenhagen University Library.  13 February 2008  <http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t235.e25>

     

    precision   In measurements, the quality of being exact or sharply defined. A measurement of length to decimal places of millimeters is more precise than a measurement to the nearest meter. Precision or exactness must be distinguished from accuracy, i.e., conformity to the true or real value.

    How to cite this entry:
    "precision"  A Dictionary of Public Health. Ed. John M. Last, Oxford University Press, 2007. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press.  Copenhagen University Library.  13 February 2008  http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t235.e3615

     

    validity   The extent to which a measurement actually measures what it purports to measure or an entity actually is what it purports to be. There are several kinds of validity. Criterion validity is the extent to which a measured variable or an entity correlates with an external criterion of the phenomenon under study. This has two aspects: concurrent validity means that the measurement and the criterion refer to the same time and place; predictive validity is the ability to predict the criterion. Construct validity is the extent to which measurements conform to theoretical concepts or constructs. Content validity is the extent to which measurements incorporate the domain of the phenomenon under study. Study validity is the degree to which the inferences from a scientific study are warranted, taking into account the strengths and weaknesses of the study design. This has two aspects: internal validity, the degree to which observations may be attributed solely to the hypothesized effect that is being studied, and external validity, which is the extent to which the findings of a study can be generalized.

    How to cite this entry:
    "validity"  A Dictionary of Public Health. Ed. John M. Last, Oxford University Press, 2007. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press.  Copenhagen University Library.  13 February 2008  <http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t235.e4676>