Screening young adult cancer survivors for depression and anxiety with the Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders (PRIME-MD): Comparisons with a structured clinical diagnostic interview.

Objective: Survivorship guidelines recommend screening for depression and anxiety in young adult cancer survivors (YACS), but research validating measures in this population is limited. The current study aimed to examine use of the Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders (PRIME-MD) to screen for depression and anxiety in YACS.

Methods: 249 YACS (aged 18-40, 50% male) completed PRIME-MD via Telephone Automated Computer Assisted Structured Interview and the Structured Clinical Interview for the DSM-IV (SCID) via in-person interview.

Vaccination intentions generate racial disparities in the societal persistence of COVID-19.

We combined survey, mobility, and infections data in greater Boston, MA to simulate the effects of racial disparities in the inclination to become vaccinated on continued infection rates and the attainment of herd immunity. The simulation projected marked inequities, with communities of color experiencing infection rates 3 times higher than predominantly White communities and reaching herd immunity 45 days later on average. Persuasion of individuals uncertain about vaccination was crucial to preventing the worst inequities but could only narrow them so far because 1/5th of Black and Latinx individuals said that they would never vaccinate.

Telephone health survey estimates: Effects of nonresponse and sample limitations.

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess nonresponse error in telephone health survey data based on an address-based sample.

Data Sources: Telephone and in-person interviews in Greater Boston.

Study Design/data Collection: Interviewers attempted telephone interviews at addresses that were matched to telephone numbers using questions drawn from federal health surveys.

Activation of the Constitutive Androstane Receptor by Monophthalates.

Humans in industrialized areas are continuously exposed to phthalate plasticizers, prompting concerns of their potential toxicities. Previous studies from our laboratory and others have shown that various phthalates activate several mammalian nuclear receptors, in particular the constitutive androstane receptor (CAR), the pregnane X receptor (PXR), and the peroxisomal proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs), although often at concentration levels of questionable relevance to human exposure. We discovered that di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and di-isononyl phthalate (DiNP), two of the highest volume production agents, were potent activators of human CAR2 (hCAR2), a unique human CAR splice variant and, to a lesser degree, human PXR (hPXR).

Exploring determinants of surrogate decision-maker confidence: an example from the ICU.

This article is an exploratory data analysis of the determinants of confidence in a surrogate decision maker who has been asked to permit an intensive care unit (ICU) patient's participation in genetic research. We pursue the difference between surrogates' and patients' confidence that the surrogate can accurately represent the patient's wishes. The article also explores whether greater confidence leads to greater agreement between patients and surrogates.

Epidemiology of undiagnosed trichomoniasis in a probability sample of urban young adults.

T. vaginalis infection (trichomoniasis) is the most common curable sexually transmitted infection (STI) in the U.S.

Gender-based screening for chlamydial infection and divergent infection trends in men and women.

Objectives: To assess the potential impact of chlamydial screening policy that recommends routine screening of women but not men.

Methods: Population surveys of probability samples of Baltimore adults aged 18 to 35 years in 1997-1998 and 2006-2009 collected biospecimens to estimate trends in undiagnosed chlamydial infection. Survey estimates are compared to surveillance data on diagnosed chlamydial infections reported to the Health Department.

Snus use and rejection in the USA.

Objective: To determine whether snus might become a strategy for reducing the harm associated with cigarette smoking in the USA as appears to be the case in Sweden, we examined receptivity to snus use in two cities with the greatest exposure to the major brands.

Methods: A dual frame, telephone survey and a brief mail survey were conducted in 2011 and 2012 in Indianapolis, Indiana and Dallas/Fort Worth Texas. Over 5000 adults completed surveys.

Surveying multiple health professional team members within institutional settings: an example from the nursing home industry.

Quality improvement and cost containment initiatives in health care increasingly involve interdisciplinary teams of providers. To understand organizational functioning, information is often needed from multiple members of a leadership team since no one person may have sufficient knowledge of all aspects of the organization. To minimize survey burden, it is ideal to ask unique questions of each member of the leadership team in areas of their expertise.

Chlamydia trachomatis infection among 15- to 35-year-olds in Baltimore, MD.

Background: Chlamydia trachomatis (Ct) is the most frequently reported infectious disease in the United States. This article reports population and subpopulation prevalence estimates of Ct and correlates of infection among 15- to 35-year-olds in Baltimore, MD.

Methods: The Monitoring STIs Survey Program (MSSP) monitored sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevalence among probability samples of residents of Baltimore, a city with high STI rates.

Impact of T-ACASI on Survey Measurements of Subjective Phenomena.

Numerous studies have shown that audio-computer-assisted self-interviewing (audio-CASI) and telephone audio-CASI (T-ACASI) technologies yield increased reporting of sensitive and stigmatized objective phenomena such as sexual and drug use behaviors. Little attention has been given, however, to the impact of these technologies on the measurement of subjective phenomena (attitudes, opinions, feelings, etc.).

Improving epidemiological surveys of sexual behaviour conducted by telephone.

Background: This study assesses the impact of Telephone Audio Computer-Assisted Self-Interviewing (T-ACASI) on the reporting of sensitive (mainly heterosexual) behaviours.

Methods: A randomized experiment was embedded in a telephone survey that drew probability samples of the populations of the USA (N = 1543) and Baltimore city (N = 744). Respondents were randomly assigned to have questions asked either by a T-ACASI computer or by a human telephone interviewer.

Issues in conducting epidemiologic research among elders: lessons from the MOBILIZE Boston Study.

Conducting research in elderly populations is important, but challenging. In this paper, the authors describe specific challenges that have arisen and solutions that have been used in carrying out The MOBILIZE Boston Study, a community-based, prospective cohort study in Massachusetts focusing on falls among 765 participants aged 70 years or older enrolled during 2005-2007. To recruit older individuals, face-to-face interactions are more effective than less personal approaches.

The MOBILIZE Boston Study: design and methods of a prospective cohort study of novel risk factors for falls in an older population.

Background: Falls are the sixth leading cause of death in elderly people in the U.S. Despite progress in understanding risk factors for falls, many suspected risk factors have not been adequately studied.

T-ACASI reduces bias in STD measurements: the National STD and Behavior Measurement Experiment.

Background: Although telephone surveys provide an economical method for assessing patterns of diagnosed sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and STD-related behaviors in populations, the requirement that respondents report such information to human telephone interviewers introduces an opportunity for substantial reporting bias. Telephone computer-assisted self-interviewing (T-ACASI) surveys substitute a computer for human interviewers when asking sensitive questions.

Methods: A randomized experiment was embedded in a telephone survey that drew probability samples of the populations of the United States (N = 1543) and Baltimore city (N = 744).

SAME-GENDER SEX IN THE UNITED STATES IMPACT OF T-ACASI ON PREVALENCE ESTIMATES.

Well-conducted telephone surveys provide an economical means of estimating the prevalence of sexual and reproductive behaviors in a population. There is, however, a nontrivial potential for bias since respondents must report sensitive information to a human interviewer. The National STD and Behavior Measurement Experiment (NSBME) evaluates a new survey technology-telephone audio computer-assisted self-interviewing (T-ACASI)-that eliminates this requirement.

Reducing bias in telephone survey estimates of the prevalence of drug use: a randomized trial of telephone audio-CASI.

Aim: To assess the impact of telephone audio computer-assisted self-interviewing (T-ACASI) on reporting of alcohol use, alcohol problems and illicit drug use in telephone surveys of the general population. Prior research suggests that illicit drug use is underreported in traditional, interviewer-administered, telephone surveys.

Design: Randomized experiment embedded in telephone survey of probability samples of populations of USA and Baltimore, MD.

Consequences of declining survey response rates for smoking prevalence estimates.

Background: Response rates have been declining in statewide tobacco surveys. This study investigated whether there was associated evidence of increasing bias in smoking prevalence estimates.

Methods: Demographic characteristics of respondents to tobacco surveys in Massachusetts and California were compared to population data in the early 1990s, when response rates were high, and in more recent years, when response rates were lower.