Chapter 6 (the roles of statistics and data in public health)

Adjusted rates

summary measures of the rate of morbidity and mortality in a population in which statistical procedures have been applied to remove the effect of differences in composition of various populations

Behavioral risk factor surveillance survey (BRFSS)

- A system of health-related telephone surveys that collect state data about U.S. residents regarding their health-related risk behaviors, chronic health conditions, and use of preventive services.

- conducted by the federal government in collab with the states

Bias

A particular preference or point of view that is personal, rather than scientific.

Case-control study

A type of epidemiologic study where a group of individuals with the diseases, referred to as cases, are compared to individuals without the disease, referred to as controls

Cohort study

A type of epidemiologic study where a group of exposed individuals (individuals who have been exposed to the potential risk factor) and a group of non-exposed individuals are followed over time to determine the incidence of disease

Confidence interval

- A range of values within which the true result probably falls

- the narrower the confidence interval, the lower the likelihood of random error

Conflict of interest

a conflict between self-interest and professional obligation

Confounding variables

factors that cause differences between the experimental group and the control group other than the independent variable

Crude rates

- Measures referring to the total population; they are not specific to any age groups or disease categories.

- can be converted into adjusted rates

False-negative

not perceiving a stimulus that is present or to find no effect when there is one

False-positive

when we think we perceive a stimulus that is not there or when the study finds an effect that is not real

Institutional review boards (IRBs)

groups of people responsible for reviewing proposed research to ensure that it meets the accepted standards of science and provides for the physical and emotional well-being of research participants

- decide whether to grant permission for access

- the only exception made to the promise of confidentiality is when people must be notified that they have been exposed to a communicable disease

National center for health statistics (NCHS)

- the primary agency that collects, analyzes, and reported data on the health of Americans at the federal level

- part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

- collects data in two main ways: states periodically transmit data compiled from local records, vital statistics/ conducts periodic surveys of representative samples of the population, seeking into on health status, lifestyle and health related behavior, onset and diagnosis of illness and disability, and the use of medical care.

National health and nutrition examination survey (NHANES)

- designed to obtain even more detailed and accurate information; doctors and nurses are sent in vans to conduct physical and dental examinations and laboratory tests on a carefully selected sample of the population.

National health care survey

- Gathers information on how health care is organized and provided in the United States

- gather data on the operations of doctors' offices, community health centers, hospitals, nursing homes, hospice organizations, and other health facilities

P-value

- Concept used to express the degree of probability or improbability of a certain result in an experiment

-expresses the probability that the observed result could have occurred by chance alone

Public health informatics

- the systematic application of information and computer science and technology to public health practice, research, and learning

- improved accessibility of public health information to public health workers and the general public

Publication bias

Trials with positive results were published, whereas those with negative results were never revealed

Random variation

Natural variation in the output of a process, created by countless minor factors

Randomized controlled trials (RCTs)

- the most rigorous forms of intervention study

- researchers choose a group of participants who have been eating an average American diet and divide them randomly into an experimental group, who will be instructed to eat a strict low-fat diet over the next 5 years, and a control group, who will be told to continue eating their usual diet. Researchers will monitor both groups, watching for signs of heart disease, and they expect that, if their hypothesis is correct, fewer people in the low-fat group will become ill. Most likely, the researchers will be disappointed with the results. The problem is that it is impossible to control the behavior of human beings under such circumstances

Rates

- a comparison of two quantities with different units

- put the raw numbers into perspective by relating them to the size of the population being considered (rates in studies of disease distribution and determinants)

Recall bias

- reporting bias

- occurs when the case and control groups systemically report data differently, even if they had the same exposure

- participants' reports of their dietary intake are notoriously unreliable

Screening

To test or examine for the presence of disease early among the population

Secondary prevention

Efforts to limit the effects of an injury or illness that you cannot completely prevent (ex: early detection and treatment)

Selection bias

- in an experiment, unintended differences between the participants in different groups

- can arise when the control group is in sufficiently similar to the treatment group

Statistical significance

a statistical statement of how likely it is that an obtained result occurred by chance

Statistics

- Collection of methods for planning experiments, obtaining data, organizing, summarizing, presenting, analyzing, interpreting, and drawing conclusions/ extract information based on data.

- refer to both the numbers that describe the health of populations and the science that helps to interpret those numbers

Surveillance systems

the continuous, systematic collection, analysis and interpretation of health-related data needed for the planning, implementation, and evaluation of public health practice

United States census

A national survey that provides data not only on the geographic distribution of the population and its sex, age, and ethnic characters but also on a wide variety of social and economic characteristics, including housing, education, and health insurance status

Vital statistics

official records of births, deaths, marriages, divorces, spontaneous fetal deaths, and abortions

Years of potential life lost (YPLL)

the number of years lost when death occurs before the age of 65 or 75

Youth risk behavior surveillance system (YRBSS)

- Monitors behaviors that contribute to unintentional injuries and violence, Sexual behaviors that contribute to unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV infection, Alcohol and other drug use, Tobacco use, Unhealthy dietary behaviors,Inadequate physical activity

- misses adolescents who have the highest risks - those who dropped out of school