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PubMed2002

Participation in a colorectal cancer screening programme: influence of the method of contacting the target population.

We assessed the effect of two different methods of contacting the target population on the rate of participation in a colorectal cancer screening programme. All individuals aged between 50 and 74 years enlisted in one primary health care centre in Barcelona (Spain) were included in a prospective randomized controlled trial. An invitation letter signed by a doctor together with two containers for faecal sample collection were sent by post to subjects in the 'standard' group (n = 1060), while subjects in the 'study' group (direct contact, n = 965) were visited by a trained non-health professional who supplied them with the same documentation as the standard group. The screening test consisted of an immunological method for the detection of faecal blood which does not require any prior specific dietary measures. Specimens were collected on two successive days. A significantly higher participation was observed in the study group (557/965, 57.7%) compared with the standard group (388/1060, 36.5%, P < 0.005). Specimen collection correctness was also higher in the study group (419/557, 75.1%) compared with the standard group (262/388, 67.5%, P < 0.014). There were no differences in terms of either age group or sex for the participation, nor for degree of correctness of specimen collection. Participation and specimen collection can be raised in colorectal cancer screening programmes by means of an invitation made through direct contact by a suitably trained non-health professional.

Aged↗

PubMed1994

Target populations and strategies for chemoprevention trials of prostate cancer.

Chemoprevention trials usually target healthy populations and employ non-toxic chemicals in an effort to eliminate, reduce, or reverse premalignant lesions or early cancer. Recent efforts have been directed at short-term Phase II trials which rely on changes in surrogate endpoint biomarkers rather than cancer incidence reduction as an endpoint. Chemopreventive agents are chosen that are likely to produce a modulating effect on one or more biomarkers in prostate cancer, including extent and grade of morphometric, genetic, proliferative, differentiative, and regulatory biomarkers. Five target populations appear to have the greatest promise in chemoprevention trials for prostate cancer: (1) Patients with high-grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia, a microscopic lesion which is the likely precursor of some prostate cancers; (2) patients with early cancer treated by watchful waiting; (3) patients with cancer waiting for prostatectomy; (4) men at high risk of developing prostate cancer; and (5) men from the general population (normal risk of prostate cancer).

Anticarcinogenic Agents↗

PubMed1988

Voluntary health agencies as target populations for epidemiologic research.

The ability of two voluntary health agencies to provide suitable target populations for epidemiologic research was explored in a pilot study of epilepsy. The results suggest that, properly approached, voluntary agencies offer advantage for this purpose. In the first agency (Group A), subjects were recruited by mail, producing a response rate of 15%. In the second agency (Group B), subjects were recruited by telephone, producing a response rate of 87%. A structured, precoded telephone interview about personal and family history of seizure disorders was administered to both groups of subjects. Subjects in Group A gave permission to contact a higher proportion of their eligible relatives than did those in Group B (73 vs 57%). Permission was obtained more often for relatives reported to have had seizures (Group A 86%, Group B 78%) than for other relatives. 89% of relatives contacted directly agreed to be interviewed. Consent forms for medical record review were signed and returned by 95% of Group A and 77% of Group B subjects. Diagnoses of etiology and seizure type of epilepsy based on the interview data agreed with diagnosis based on the medical records in most cases. In first-degree relatives of subjects with epilepsy, reported rates of epilepsy did not appear to be seriously biased.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

[A field trial study on the influence of different salt iodine concentration on urinary iodine excrition among the target population].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the influence of different salt iodine concentration on urinary iodine excrition among the target population and to determine the appropriate level of salt iodization to the local people. METHODS: In the 31-day random control trial, 1099 subjects from 399 families were randomly distributed into four groups and were supplied with iodized-salt with different iodine concentration of (6 +/- 2)mg/kg, (15 +/- 2)mg/kg, (24 +/- 2)mg/kg and (34 +/- 2)mg/kg, respectively. The original family salt was retrieved, whose iodine content was determined in those subjects' families with single-blind method. Baseline survey was conducted including salt and urinary iodine of the subjects. From the 27th day after the intervention, the urinary samples of the subjects were continuously collected for 5 days and urinary iodine was tesed respectively. Meanwhile, daily meal investigation was conducted to evaluate the influences originated from food. RESULTS: The median of local water iodine content was 3.05 microg/L and the average salt iodine concentration was (36.4 +/- 5.4)mg/kg while 98.8% of the household consumed sufficient iodized-salt. The medians of baseline urinary iodine of the subjects were 293.6 microg/L in city, and 508.8 microg/L in the countryside. The urinary iodine medians of four groups in the day of 28th after intervention were 97.2 microg/L, 198.6 microg/L, 249.4 microg/L, and 330.7 microg/L respectively in the city group, while they were 100.5 microg/L, 193.0 microg/L, 246.3 microg/L and 308.3 microg/L seperately in the countryside group. There was no statistically significant differences among the medians of urine iodine in the 27th, 28th, 29th, 30th and 31st day after intervention (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The target areas were with iodine deficiency which possessed high coverage of qualified iodized-salt at household level. The average urinary iodine level of the subjects was slightly higher than the standard level, according to the baseline survey. The intervetion trail showed that the salt iodine concentration of 15-24 mg/kg was sufficient to the local people.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2001

Identification of a target population for immunisation against East Coast fever in coastal Kenya.

Two experiments were carried out to identify the target population of cattle for immunisation against East Coast fever (ECF) using the infection-and-treatment method. Firstly, a sentinel-calf study was used to determine the age window for ECF immunisation by determining ages at clinical detection of infection with Theileria parva. Six groups of five naive cross-bred (Bos taurus/Bos indicus) male calves, introduced at intervals of 2 months at a mean age of 26 days, were exposed to natural tick challenge on a high ECF-risk, small-holder farm in the coastal lowland, coconut-cassava agro-ecological zone of coastal Kenya. Secondly, a challenge study evaluated the relationship between the presence of T. parva antibodies and immunity. Ten indigenous adult Zebu cattle and nine Zebu young stock purchased from farmers in the same zone, and eight cross-bred calves (survivors of the sentinel-calf study) were challenged with 10 times the immunising dose of T. parva Marikebuni stock. Twenty-four of these 27 cattle had high antibody titres before challenge. Two cross-bred calves, obtained from an ECF-free area and seronegative to T. parva schizont antigen, also were challenged and used as susceptible controls. Twenty-five (83%) of the 30 sentinel calves contracted ECF over an age range of 36-116 days (mean 72 days). The remaining five calves died of other causes within 2 months of arrival on the farm. Fourteen of the 25 calves survived the infection and developed antibodies to T. parva. Despite tick control, seven of these 14 calves had a second episode of ECF and two died. In total, 13 of the 25 calves that contracted ECF died. Only one of 19 indigenous Zebu animals developed clinical ECF when challenged with T. parva Marikebuni (mild clinical signs with spontaneous recovery). Of the eight cross-bred survivors from the first experiment, only one succumbed to ECF when challenged and it died. Both susceptible cross-bred calves developed severe clinical signs of ECF and one died. The experimental studies show that in the high ECF-risk areas of the coconut-cassava zone of coastal Kenya, immunisation against ECF in cross-bred (B. taurus/B. indicus) cattle should be targeted at an early age (preferably within 1-2 months of birth).

Agriculture↗

PubMed2002

Lung cancer screening by spiral CT. What is the optimal target population for screening trials?

The purpose of this document is to provide recommendations for the selection of the optimal target population for lung cancer screening trials with Spiral Computer Tomography based on an analysis of risk factors and high-risk populations. Our recommendations are to include current or ex-smokers (<5 years) with a smoking history of at least 30 years and an average consumption of at least 20 cigarettes a day. When these selection criteria are applied there is no need for a lower age cut-off. Elderly people can be included as long as their life expectancy is more than 10 years. Participants should be fit enough to undergo thoracic surgery. They may have a history of previous cancer, provided that the cancer has been curatively treated at least 5 years ago without evidence of relapse, except for breast cancer, melanoma and hypernephroma. People with an inability to lie flat, who are unable to hold their breath for 20 s, with a body weight above 140 kg, a chest CT scan within 1 year before enrolment or a previous pneumonectomy should not be invited. The inadequacy of the unit 'Pack-Years' (PY) to estimate the individual lung cancer risk is recognised, and future initiatives to develop an appropriate lung cancer risk model are encouraged.

Adult↗

PubMed1999

A method to assess the functional impact of cerebral connections on target populations of neurons.

We describe an innovative and tested approach combining two individually potent techniques to visualize simultaneously the functional impact of multiple projections on target populations of neurons in the brain. The rationale is simple: silence a defined set of efferent projections from one cortical region using cooling deactivation and then measure the impact of the deactivation on activities in multiple target regions using 2-deoxyglucose (2DG). This is a straightforward and sound approach because 2DG uptake by neurons reflects levels of underlying neural activity. All distant modifications evoked by the silencing of the set of efferent projections are examined in anatomical tissue and simultaneously for the multiple target sites to provide a global view of the functional impacts of the set of projections on the targets. With this method, downward adjustments of 2DG uptake levels identify removals of net excitatory signals, whereas upward adjustments identify net removals of suppressive influences. Future possible uses and modifications of the technique, including optical imaging, are discussed. Overall, the technique has the potential to provide fundamental, new measures on cerebral network interactions that both complement and extend current static models of cerebral networks and electrophysiological measures of functional impacts on individual neurons.

Amino Acids↗

PubMed1982

A method for using epidemiologic data to estimate the potential impact of an intervention on the health status of a target population.

A general method is proposed for estimating the potential impact of a prevention program involving risk factor modification on the incidence of specific diseases in a target population. An evaluative framework for comparing alternative intervention strategies is also presented. On the basis of results from epidemiologic studies, the user must specify certain parameters regarding the distribution of the risk factor that is to be modified in the population, the magnitude of the association between the risk factor and disease, and the total risk of disease in the population. A quantitative measure, called the potential impact fraction, is derived to estimate the proportion of expected new cases that may be prevented under intervention programs of varying success. Estimates of this measure are then used to assess the potential efficacy, effectiveness, adequacy, and efficiency of planned intervention strategies. The method is illustrated with published data relating relative weight and coronary heart disease among middle-aged U.S. men, comparing different strategies of weight reduction. Key assumptions of the method and interpretation of results are discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed1983

A pilot control trial of schistosomiasis in central Liberia by mass chemotherapy of target populations, combined with focal application of molluscicide.

In an area of high transmission of Schistosoma haematobium and S. mansoni in Central Liberia, populations of five villages and intermediate host snails were surveyed for two years. In three of these villages focal application of molluscicide (niclosamide) in the main transmission sites was combined with mass chemotherapy of a target population representing 76 to 90% of the contamination index. In the two other villages, which served as control, the prevalence indexes remained stable or increased a little during the period of this study. A three dose metrifonate mass treatment was applied in one village with only S. haematobium infections. The compliance was very poor for the second and third dose but the quantity of eggs eliminated by the whole population present before and after mass treatment was reduced by 50%. No snails were found after molluscicide applications but as the incidence remained unchanged it is suspected that inhabitants have been reinfected by going to their fields. Concurrent metrifonate and niridazole mass treatment in one dose was applied in another village with only S. haematobium infections. Molluscicide applications reduced the snail population by 80% but did not affect the transmission. Prevalence indexes were almost the same before and after this intervention. In the last village, praziquantel (40 mg/kg in 1 dose) was used because both S. haematobium and S. mansoni infections were present. Molluscicide applications reduced the snail population by 99% and 87% for Bulinus globosus and Biomphalaria pfeifferi, respectively. This intervention stopped the transmission of S. haematobium for at least one year and reduced the prevalence from 21% to 4.6%. On the contrary for S. mansoni infections, the incidence remained very high (50%) and the prevalence was unchanged after one year follow-up. This could be explained by lower efficacy of praziquantel against S. mansoni (cure rate: 53%) and of molluscicide application against B. pfeifferi, which are highly susceptible to S. mansoni (infection rate 44%). The importance of migration in these villages is emphasized. Prevalence indexes were largely influenced by the arrival of newcomers who played a more important role in the maintenance of transmission after target mass chemotherapy than the infected persons excluded from this treatment. The costs per capita protected were 3.33 US $ for metrifonate, 1.53 for metrifonate and niridazole combined and 1.67 US$ for praziquantel. These figures do not include costs for parasitological examinations.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Adolescent↗

PubMed2007

Alcohol and sexuality research in the AIDS era: trends in publication activity, target populations and research design.

Research addressing relationships between alcohol and human sexuality has proliferated, due in part to efforts to characterize alcohol's role in HIV risk behavior. This study provides a descriptive review of the alcohol-sexuality literature, using abstracts from 264 identified studies to estimate changes in publication activity, target populations, and the prevalence of HIV-related studies over time. We also examine methodological trends by estimating the prevalence of experimental vs. non-experimental studies. Findings show considerable increases in research activity and diversity of populations studied since the mid-1980's and highlight the emergence of HIV-related studies as a focal point of alcohol-sexuality research efforts. Results also demonstrate a substantial decline in the proportion of studies utilizing experimental methods, in part because of frequent use of non-experimental approaches in studies of alcohol and HIV risk behavior. We discuss implications and review the role of experiments in evaluating causal relationships between alcohol and sexual risk behavior.

Alcohol Drinking↗

PubMed1997

Evaluation of tests for detection of antibodies to Aujeszky's disease (pseudorabies) virus glycoprotein E in the target population.

Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves assess the quality of tests over the entire range of test signals. We compared the ability of an ELISA to detect antibodies to Aujeszky's disease (pseudorabies) virus gE in colostrum (test A) and in a single droplet of whole blood (test B) with the results obtained in serum (gold standard) in the target population by constructing and analyzing such curves. The area under the ROC curve, which is a quantitative measure of test performance, proved to be significantly (p < 0.01) smaller in test A than in test B or the gold standard. No significant differences in the area under the ROC curve were observed between test B and the gold standard.

Animals↗

PubMed1996

[The practical theory of occupational health planning: Part One--The theoretical background of the target population setting and needs assessment procedures (OPST research report 2)].

The OPSS is an 8 stage program which was developed as a practical tool for occupational health services planning. This paper examines the theoretical aspects of the first two stages. The OPSS is a planning tool with a theoretical grounding in OHP (The practical theory of Occupational Health Planning). The target population setting has two functions. The first is to establish the physician's first-hypothesis to design a program. The other is deciding the group which has an occupational health problem in a company. The Needs Assessment helps to clarify the physician's hypothesis, which may be weak due to the limited knowledge of various demands of the employees and senior management. On the other hand, the risks and needs vary according to what kind of expert looks at a situation. To date, occupational physicians have been limited to their medical background in determining only risks and needs. However, understanding the various stakeholders in a particular environment means that any project will be more relevant to all concerned. Another limitation of the occupational physicians hypothesis can be the lack of objective data to support it. This makes it difficult to persuade senior management to sign on to a program. The Needs Assessment procedure with OHQ steps is useful in a number of ways. The Observation step allows for finding risks and needs from various situations in the company from the occupational physician's viewpoint (prehypothesis setting). Hearing is for understanding the subject's demands and finding common themes in the company (final hypothesis setting). Finally, the questionnaire step is for providing objectivity of these common themes and quantitative data for the next Priority Setting procedure. The BITOP (Budget, Information, Time, Order, key Person) has been proposed as a way to diagnose the structural and functional aspects of an organization's procedures. Budget tracks the financial flow through the organization, while Information identifies key information sources. Time helps to understand the reaction speeds of a company against environmental changes in the business community. Order looks at the flow of information from senior management through strategic gatekeepers. Understanding this flow helps the occupational physician to identify specific issues at various levels of the organization. Finally, key Person looks at the flow of information up through the organization, and identifies which key executives the occupational physician needs cooperation from in order for the project to be approved and successful. The above two procedures are essential tasks for insuring that an occupational physician can effectively implement a project that identifies what is necessary for the company and what the company wants to do, and works effectively within the organizational structure.

Health Planning↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Increased diagnosis of asthma in hospitalized infants: the next target population for care management?

Hospitalization of children with asthma declined at our institution between 1996 and 2000, before stabilizing for the past 5 years. The ages of children hospitalized since 2000 were examined to see if the demographics of the hospitalized population have changed to better understand why the hospitalization rate has remained the same despite continued, aggressive screening and education efforts. Data were gathered for our hospital through the Department of Defense Medical Health System Management Analysis and Reporting System (M2). The mean age (+/- SD) of children hospitalized in 2003 (2.84 +/- 2.53) was less than the mean age for 2000 and 2002 (4.85 +/- 3.7 and 4.61 +/- 4.45), respectively (p < 0.05), and more infants less than 2 years of age were hospitalized in 2003 (33/60, 55% p < 0.01) and 2004 (32/68, 47% p < 0.05) than in 2000 (19/70, 27%). The diagnosis of asthma in hospitalized infants and young children has increased over the past 5 years, suggesting better recognition and providing a new target population for intervention with early asthma controller therapy.

Age Factors↗

PubMed2004

No substantial psychological impact of the diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes following targeted population screening: The Hoorn Screening Study.

AIMS: To examine the impact of the diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes on psychological well-being and perceived health status in subjects who participated in a targeted population-screening programme. METHODS: This study was conducted within the framework of a screening project in the general (aged 50-75 years) Dutch population. The final study population consisted of 259 subjects with a high-risk score on the Symptom Risk Questionnaire; 116 of whom were subsequently detected with Type 2 diabetes and 143 who were non-diabetic. The impact was assessed approximately 2 weeks (shortly) and 6 and 12 months after the diagnosis, using the 12-item Well-Being Questionnaire (W-BQ12) and the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36 (SF-36), respectively. Analyses of co-variance (ancova) were used. RESULTS: Approximately 2 weeks after the diagnosis, no significant mean differences were found on either the W-BQ12 or the SF-36, between the screening-detected Type 2 diabetes subjects and the non-diabetic subjects. Six months after the diagnosis, we found lower scores in the screening-detected Type 2 diabetes subjects compared with the non-diabetic subjects on the SF-36 dimensions Role Physical (mean difference (95% CI); -8.2 (-16.2; -0.1); P = 0.046) and Role Emotional (mean difference (95% CI); -7.9 (-15.3; -0.5); P = 0.038). One year after the test results, no significant mean differences were found between both groups on either instrument (W-BQ12; SF-36). CONCLUSIONS: The diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes has no substantial adverse or positive effect on psychological well-being and perceived health status, shortly, and 6 and 12 months after the diagnosis.

Aged↗

PubMed1996

The etiology of vision impairment in target population.

PURPOSE: research the etiology of vision impairment in target persons over 45 years old in Doumen county, Guangdong province. METHODS: Depending on the prevalences of the blindness among the person aged over 50 years, the theoretic sample rate is 1,000/4,8733 x 100% = 2.05%. The 8 districts were divided into 3 parts according to the local economic situation and the proportion of the population in the areas. In fact, the sampling rate is 932/10055 = 88.34%. RESULTS: We found that impairment < 0.3 accounted for 10.94%. The prevalence of bilateral blindness and low vision was 1.61% and 3.22%, respectively. Both prevalences of blindness and low vision were increased with age. The leading cuase of blindness was cataract (45.2%). The second was corneal opacity (16.7%). Prevalences of the low vision and the blindness were higher in females than in males (P < 0.005). CONCLUSIONS: Curable and preventable diseases were the leading cause for the blindness (70%). Prevalences of blindness and the low vision increase with age. We will continually follow up the population over 50 years of age in Doumen county.

Age Factors↗

PubMed1996

The numerical matching of source and target populations in the CNS: the inferior olive to Purkinje cell projection.

During a defined critical period of development, if the target of a neuronal population is removed, there is a massive decrease in the number of neurons that survive into adulthood. Previous studies have found that source neuron number is a strictly linear function of target size. The current work extends these observations to the inferior olive-->Purkinje cell projection. Three distinct model systems have been used: (i) lurcher<-->wild-type aggregation chimeras, (ii) staggerer<-->wild-type chimeras and (iii) naturally occurring polymorphisms in Purkinje cell number found in different inbred mouse strains. Total neuron numbers were counted in the inferior olive and plotted as a function of the number of Purkinje cells in the contralateral cerebellar cortex. In lurcher mutants and chimeras, the relationship between these values is well described by a straight line. This suggests that, like the granule-->Purkinje cell circuit, the olive-->Purkinje cell circuit uses a linear algorithm to achieve a numerical balance. The results from the two other model systems were not as clear cut. In the staggerer chimeras, we found only a rough correlation between neuron and target numbers and in the inbred strains there was no discernible relationship at all. These findings indicate that in the final analysis, there are multiple factors involved in the determination of the number of olive cells surviving into adulthood. The potential contribution of sustaining collaterals and afferent inputs is discussed as well as the possible existence of different subcircuits of olivocerebellar connections, each with its own numerical matching function.

Animals↗

PubMed1992

Prenatal cystic fibrosis carrier testing: designing an information leaflet to meet the specific needs of the target population.

A questionnaire was given to 180 patients in an antenatal clinic, who were eligible to enter a pilot trial of cystic fibrosis (CF) carrier testing, seeking their views on the information leaflet inviting them to participate; 161 patients (89%) entered the trial and 145 patients (81%) responded to the questionnaire, including 10 who did not enter the trial. Ninety-six percent of these found the leaflet easy to understand, and 97% of those partners who read the leaflet also found it easy to understand. Fifteen percent of patients thought the leaflet should give additional information. Most (92%) had heard of CF before reading the leaflet, television being the most common source of information. Although avoiding the birth of a child with CF was the reason most patients gave for wishing to be screened, almost as many were interested to know their carrier status. The decision to accept or decline testing was taken in conjunction with their partner by 63% of women. Of those who were screened, 59% stated that taking the test made them feel reassured, while 38% felt slightly apprehensive. It was concluded that, with a number of minor amendments, the leaflet met the specific needs of the target patient population.

Attitude to Health↗

PubMed2026

Targeted population genomics uncovers demographic history and genetic divergence in north American wild cranberry.

Wild populations of North American cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon Aiton) are reservoirs of genetic variation that may contribute to the improvement of breeding-relevant traits. However, the extent to which wild genetic variation is geographically structured and represented in elite germplasm remains unclear. We analysed 179 wild cranberry accessions from the upper Midwest and Eastern North America to estimate nucleotide diversity (π), population structure, and loci associated with genetic differentiation and environmental variables using a genome-informed targeted genotyping panel. Additionally, 14 demographic scenarios were evaluated using site-frequency-spectrum-based inference to identify historical events that could explain current genetic diversity. We observed extremely low nucleotide diversity within the targeted panel (π = 5 × 10-6). Rare allele distributions strongly influenced π and Tajima's D values, suggesting constrained diversity in the genomic regions assayed that is not captured by heterozygosity-based estimates alone. However, we interpreted these results as conservative lower bounds on genome-wide neutral diversity because the targeted panel is enriched for genic and conserved regions. A clear separation between the Midwest and East populations was observed, with inbreeding coefficients ranging from -0.13 to 0.15. Furthermore, site frequency spectrum inference from the targeted panel supported a demographic scenario consistent with a significant population reduction ≈15-14 thousand years ago (kya), followed by a divergence between the two regions ≈12 kya, and an asymmetric gene flow ≈1.3 kya. We detected 254 candidate loci showing regional allele-frequency differentiation. Several of these loci colocalized with candidate genes linked to stress response, development, and metabolic processes. To evaluate the representation of geographically differentiated wild alleles in a breeding context, we analysed Rutgers breeding materials (n = 484) and found that this panel is enriched for common alleles in Eastern wild populations. These findings indicate regionally structured allele-frequency variation in wild cranberry, with potential relevance to environmental response and breeding. This study extends prior wild cranberry population-genetic research by providing targeted-panel estimates of diversity, comparisons of demographic models, and breeding insights on geographically differentiated alleles, while highlighting the importance of conserving wild cranberry germplasm for use in modern breeding programs.

Journal Article↗