Assessing Laboratory Method Validations for Informing Inference Across Survey Cycles in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Background and objectives Laboratory tests conducted on survey respondents' biological specimens are a major component of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The National Center for Health Statistics' Division of Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys performs internal analytic method validation studies whenever laboratories undergo instrumental or methodological changes, or when contract laboratories change. These studies assess agreement between methods to evaluate how methodological changes could affect data inference or compromise consistency of measurements across survey cycles.

Calibration Weighting Methods for the National Center for Health Statistics Research and Development Survey.

Objectives The Research and Development Survey (RANDS) is a series of web-based, commercial panel surveys that have been conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) since 2015. RANDS was designed for methodological research purposes,including supplementing NCHS' evaluation of surveys and questionnaires to detect measurement error, and exploring methods to integrate data from commercial survey panels with high-quality data collections to improve survey estimation. The latter goal of improving survey estimation is in response to limitations of web surveys, including coverage and nonresponse bias.

Multiple imputation of missing data with skip-pattern covariates: a comparison of alternative strategies.

Multiple imputation (MI) is a widely used approach to address missing data issues in surveys. Variables included in MI can have various distributional forms with different degrees of missingness. However, when variables with missing data contain skip patterns (i.

Propensity-score Adjusted Estimates for Selected Health Outcomes From the Research and Development Survey.

To evaluate the quality of web surveys, the National Center for Health Statistics' Division of Research and Methodology has been conducting a series of studies with survey data from commercially recruited panels,referred to as the Research and Development Survey (RANDS). This report describes the propensity-score adjusted estimates from the second round of RANDS (RANDS 2) using the 2016 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS).

Identifying relative strength of methadone versus health and social services in comprehensive substance use disorder treatment using a variance decomposition approach.

Background: The purpose of this study is to identify the relative strengths of association of medication and health and social services in comprehensive substance use disorder (SUD) treatment.

Objectives: The study uses a novel variance decomposition method to assess the relative strength of association of six active ingredients of comprehensive SUD treatment: methadone medication, access services, SUD counseling, matched service ratio, client-provider relationship, and treatment duration.

Methods: The study uses data from the National Treatment Improvement Evaluation Study (1992-1997), a dataset with an unusual number of services and service strategies measured.

Overview and Initial Results of the National Center for Health Statistics' Research and Development Survey.

The National Center for Health Statistics is assessing the usefulness of recruited web panels in multiple research areas. One research area examines the use of close-ended probe questions and split-panel experiments for evaluating question-response patterns. Another research area is the development of statistical methodology to leverage the strength of national survey data to evaluate, and possibly improve, health estimates from recruited panels.

The National Center for Health Statistics' 2015 and 2016 Research and Development Surveys.

Objective: This report provides a general description of the background and operation of the first two rounds of the Research and Development Survey (RANDS), a series of cross-sectional surveys from probability-sampled commercial survey panels. The Division of Research and Methodology of the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) conducted the first two rounds of RANDS in 2015 and 2016. RANDS 1 and 2 are being used primarily for question design evaluation and for investigating statistical methodologies for estimation.

Comparison of Quarterly and Yearly Calibration Data for Propensity Score Adjusted Web Survey Estimates.

While web surveys have become increasingly popular as a method of data collection, there is concern that estimates obtained from web surveys may not reflect the target population of interest. Web survey estimates can be calibrated to existing national surveys using a propensity score adjustment, although requirements for the size and collection timeline of the reference data set have not been investigated. We evaluate health outcomes estimates from the National Center for Health Statistics' Research and Development web survey.

On a scale as a sum of manifest variables.

The most common approach for a scale construction is to create a scale as a sum of manifest variables (a "sum scale"). When we use the sum scale for analysis, we implicitly assume that there is a one-dimensional latent structure representing the manifest data on a multidimensional space. In this commentary, we review basics of identifying a latent structure using measured variables with a minimum linear algebra.

National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey: Estimation Procedures, 2011-2014.

This report describes the methods used to create NHANES 2011-2014 sample weights and variance units for the public-use data files, including sample weights for selected subsamples, such as the fasting subsample. The impacts of sample design changes on estimation for NHANES 2011-2014 and the addition of the NHANES National Youth Fitness Survey (NNYFS) 2012 are described. Approaches that data users can employ to modify sample weights when combining survey cycles or when combining subsamples are also included.

Gender disparities in utilization and outcome of comprehensive substance abuse treatment among racial/ethnic groups.

This study examined gender differences within Black, Latino, and White subgroups in the utilization of comprehensive services and their relation to posttreatment substance use. Survey data were collected during the National Treatment Improvement Evaluation Study (NTIES), a prospective, longitudinal, multisite study of substance abuse treatment programs and their clients in the United States. The analytic sample consisted of 1,812 blacks (734 women and 1,078 men), 486 Latinos (147 women and 339 men), and 844 whites (147 women and 339 men) from 59 service delivery organizations.

Client and program characteristics associated with wait time to substance abuse treatment entry.

Background: Wait time is among the most commonly cited barriers to access among individuals seeking entry to substance abuse treatment, yet relatively little is known about what contributes to it.

Objectives: To address this gap, this study draws from a national sample of substance abuse treatment clients and programs to estimate the proportion of clients entering treatment who waited more than 1 month to receive it (outpatient, residential, or methadone) and to identify client and program characteristics associated with wait time.

Methods: This study used data from the National Treatment Improvement Evaluation Study (1992-1997).

Client-Provider relationship in comprehensive substance abuse treatment: differences in residential and nonresidential settings.

As the substance abuse service system shifts from primarily residential to primarily nonresidential settings, it becomes important to understand how substance abuse treatment processes and outcomes may vary across service setting. Research increasingly indicates that, along with specific treatment and service strategies, client-provider relationship is an important ingredient in effective substance abuse treatment. This study uses a moderator-mediator analysis of a comprehensive service model to examine how the relation between client-provider relationship and substance abuse treatment outcomes may differ in residential and nonresidential settings.

Improving health and social outcomes with targeted services in comprehensive substance abuse treatment.

Background: Improved life functioning along with substance use reduction is increasingly recognized as the definition of effective addiction treatment.

Objectives: To assess whether targeted health and social services contribute to improved physical/mental health and employment.

Methods: This study used data from the National Treatment Improvement Evaluation Study (N = 3027) and modeled the improvement in physical/mental health and employment at discharge or 12 months after discharge compared with intake measures as a function of receipts of matched services.

The impact of comprehensive services in substance abuse treatment for women with a history of intimate partner violence.

This study examines the impact of comprehensive services on posttreatment substance use among women with a history of intimate partner violence. The sample includes 1,123 women from 50 treatment facilities derived from the National Treatment Improvement Evaluation Study (NTIES). Generalized linear mixed modeling was used to determine whether a history of intimate partner violence moderates the association between service receipt and posttreatment substance use.

Gender differences in client-provider relationship as active ingredient in substance abuse treatment.

The client-provider relationship is increasingly evaluated as an active ingredient in the delivery of substance abuse treatment services. This study examines gender differences in client-provider relationship as an important treatment ingredient affecting retention in treatment and reduced post-treatment substance use. The study uses data collected for the National Treatment Improvement Evaluation Study (NTIES), a prospective, cohort study of U.

Closing the Need-Service Gap: Gender Differences in Matching Services to Client Needs in Comprehensive Substance Abuse Treatment.

Despite the broad recognition in social work that services are more effective when they are tailored to individual client needs, we have only limited evidence of the impact that services matched to client needs have on treatment outcomes. This study examines gender differences in the impact of matched services, access services, and outcome-targeted services on substance abuse treatment outcomes by using data collected from 1992 through 1997 for the National Treatment Improvement Evaluation Study, a prospective, cohort study of substance abuse treatment programs and clients. The analytic sample consists of 3,027 clients (1,105 women and 1,922 men) who reported needed services from 59 treatment facilities.

Need-service matching in substance abuse treatment: racial/ethnic differences.

This study examines the impact of ancillary health and social services matched to client needs in substance abuse treatment for African Americans, Latinos and Whites. The study uses data collected from 1992 to 1997 for the National Treatment Improvement Evaluation Study, a prospective cohort study of substance abuse treatment programs and their clients. The analytic sample consists of 3142 clients (1812 African Americans, 486 Latinos, 844 Whites) from 59 treatment facilities.

Gender and racial/ethnic disparities in the impact of HIV prevention programming in substance abuse treatment.

Objective: The objective of the study was to evaluate the capacity of HIV prevention programs offered in substance abuse treatment to reduce HIV-related risk behavior for women and men and for Black, Latino, and White groups.

Methods: Prospective data was collected at intake, discharage, and 12 months post-treatment from 1992 to 1997 for the National Treatment Improvement Evaluation Study with a sample consisting of 3,142 clients from 59 service delivery units: 972 females, 1,870 males, 1,812 Blacks, 486 Latinos, and 844 Whites.

Results: Study findings show that receipt of HIV prevention programming as part of substance abuse treatment services resulted in reductions in HIV-related risk behavior for the sample overall and for women as well as men.