Ngari, Moses M. Schmitz, Susanne Maronga, Christopher Mramba, Lazarus K. Vaillant, Michel
Published in
BMC Medical Research Methodology
BackgroundSurvival analyses methods (SAMs) are central to analysing time-to-event outcomes. Appropriate application and reporting of such methods are important to ensure correct interpretation of the data. In this study, we systematically review the application and reporting of SAMs in studies of tuberculosis (TB) patients in Africa. It is the firs...
Jiang, Shan Warren, Joshua L. Scovronick, Noah Moss, Shannon E. Darrow, Lyndsey A. Strickland, Matthew J. Newman, Andrew J. Chen, Yong Ebelt, Stefanie T. Chang, Howard H.
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Published in
BMC Medical Research Methodology
BackgroundShort-term associations between extreme heat events and adverse health outcomes are well-established in epidemiologic studies. However, the use of different exposure definitions across studies has limited our understanding of extreme heat characteristics that are most important for specific health outcomes or subpopulations.MethodsLogic r...
Varghese, Jithin Sam Maluccio, John A. Cunningham, Solveig A. Ramirez-Zea, Manuel Stein, Aryeh D.
Published in
BMC Medical Research Methodology
BackgroundAsset-based indices are widely-used proxy measures of wealth in low and middle-income countries (LMIC). The stability of these indices within households over time is not known.MethodsWe develop a harmonized household asset index using Principal Component Analysis for the participants (n = 2392) of INCAP Longitudinal Study, Guatemala using...
Noel-Storr, Anna H. Redmond, Patrick Lamé, Guillaume Liberati, Elisa Kelly, Sarah Miller, Lucy Dooley, Gordon Paterson, Andy Burt, Jenni
Published in
BMC Medical Research Methodology
BackgroundCrowdsourcing engages the help of large numbers of people in tasks, activities or projects, usually via the internet. One application of crowdsourcing is the screening of citations for inclusion in a systematic review. There is evidence that a ‘Crowd’ of non-specialists can reliably identify quantitative studies, such as randomized contro...
Jandhyala, Ravi
Published in
BMC Medical Research Methodology
BackgroundHealth-related quality of life (HRQoL) tools are limited by the indicators included in the construct and variation in interpretation by different researchers. Neutral Theory describes the ideal construct that includes all relevant indicators and, therefore, complete accuracy, or neutrality. Neutral Theory can thereby provide the framework...
Mullah, Muhammad Abu Shadeque Hanley, James A. Benedetti, Andrea
Published in
BMC Medical Research Methodology
BackgroundGeneralized linear mixed models (GLMMs), typically used for analyzing correlated data, can also be used for smoothing by considering the knot coefficients from a regression spline as random effects. The resulting models are called semiparametric mixed models (SPMMs). Allowing the random knot coefficients to follow a normal distribution wi...
Lambert, Paul C. Syriopoulou, Elisavet Rutherford, Mark R.
Published in
BMC Medical Research Methodology
BackgroundWhen quantifying the probability of survival in cancer patients using cancer registration data, it is common to estimate marginal relative survival, which under assumptions can be interpreted as marginal net survival. Net survival is a hypothetical construct giving the probability of being alive if it was only possible to die of the cance...
Muller, Ashley Elizabeth Himmels, Jan Peter William Van de Velde, Stijn
Published in
BMC Medical Research Methodology
BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has become a source of fear across the world. Measuring the level or significance of fear in different populations may help identify populations and areas in need of public health and education campaigns. We were interested in diagnostic tests developed to assess or diagnose COVID-19-related fear or phobia.MethodsWe ...
Sheringham, Jessica Kuhn, Isla Burt, Jenni
Published in
BMC Medical Research Methodology
BackgroundIdentifying how unwarranted variations in healthcare delivery arise is challenging. Experimental vignette studies can help, by isolating and manipulating potential drivers of differences in care. There is a lack of methodological and practical guidance on how to design and conduct these studies robustly. The aim of this study was to locat...
Rai, Tanvi Dixon, Sharon Ziebland, Sue
Published in
BMC Medical Research Methodology
BackgroundResearch participation is beneficial to patients, clinicians and healthcare services. There is currently poor alignment between UK clinical research activity and local prevalence of disease. The National Institute of Health Research is keen to encourage chief investigators (CIs) to base their research activity in areas of high patient nee...
