Biomedical subjects

Stephen J Walsh

Publications and source records attributed to Stephen J Walsh.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Incentive program decreases no-shows in nontreatment substance abuse research.

This study examined the use of a low-cost incentive program to decrease the rate of unanticipated no-shows in a nontreatment study of the genetics of substance dependence. Low-cost retail items (such as calling cards or gift certificates) were offered contingent on attendance at the first scheduled research appointment. Although the intervention did not result in an increase in the rate of attendance at appointments, it reduced the likelihood of unanticipated no-shows by almost 50%. This reduction was accompanied by a significant increase in advance cancellations. Despite limitations due to the study's A-B design, this research demonstrates that it may be possible to use modest incentives to increase the efficiency of research enrollment and increase service provision for substance abusers.

Appointments and Schedules↗

PubMed2004

Developing a science of land change: challenges and methodological issues.

Land-change science has emerged as a foundational element of global environment change and sustainability science. It seeks to understand the human and environment dynamics that give rise to changed land uses and covers, not only in terms of their type and magnitude but their location as well. This focus requires the integration of social, natural, and geographical information sciences. Each of these broad research communities has developed different ways to enter the land-change problem, each with different means of treating the locational specificity of the critical variables, such as linking the land manager to the parcel being managed. The resulting integration encounters various data, methodological, and analytical problems, especially those concerning aggregation and inference, land-use pixel links, data and measurement, and remote sensing analysis. Here, these integration problems, which hinder comprehensive understanding and theory development, are addressed. Their recognition and resolution are required for the sustained development of land-change science.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2003

A tree-based scan statistic for database disease surveillance.

Many databases exist with which it is possible to study the relationship between health events and various potential risk factors. Among these databases, some have variables that naturally form a hierarchical tree structure, such as pharmaceutical drugs and occupations. It is of great interest to use such databases for surveillance purposes in order to detect unsuspected relationships to disease risk. We propose a tree-based scan statistic, by which the surveillance can be conducted with a minimum of prior assumptions about the group of occupations/drugs that increase risk, and which adjusts for the multiple testing inherent in the many potential combinations. The method is illustrated using data from the National Center for Health Statistics Multiple Cause of Death Database, looking at the relationship between occupation and death from silicosis.

Databases, Factual↗

PubMed2003

Do employment and family work affect the health status of women with fibromyalgia?

OBJECTIVE: To assess health status differences of women with fibromyalgia syndrome (FM) who are employed and not employed, and to evaluate whether employment and family work influence the health status of women with FM as it does for women in community studies. METHODS: Participants were 287 women recruited from 118 randomly selected rheumatology practices. They completed telephone interviews that collected data on demographic characteristics, health status, symptoms, family work, and social support. One hundred thirty-seven were employed and 150 were not employed. Formal statistical analysis, including estimation and testing, focused on the relationship between employment and 4 health status measures: Modified Health Assessment Questionnaire (MHAQ), visual analog scale (VAS) for pain on the interview day, number of painful areas, and VAS for fatigue on the interview day. The relationship between employment and these measures was evaluated using analysis of variance, chi-square, linear regression, and ordinal logistic regression. RESULTS: The majority of participants reported high levels of symptoms and poor health status. In the bivariate analyses, employed women reported significantly less pain, less fatigue, and better functional status than those who were not employed. In the multivariate analyses, employment remained a significant factor in explaining number of painful areas, functional status (MHAQ), and fatigue, with employed women reporting better health status than those not employed. Employment was not associated with pain on the day of the interview when other factors were considered in the analysis. The psychological demands of family work were consistently related to all dependent measures of health status, as those with greater psychological demands reported worse health status. CONCLUSION: As in community studies, employed women with FM report better health status than women who are not employed. The demands of family work exert a serious and significant effect on every dimension of health status and should be the focus of greater clinical attention. Further followup will assess whether employment has a protective effect for women with FM as in community studies or whether women with less severe FM tend to remain in the workforce.

Activities of Daily Living↗