Correlates of dysfunctional career thoughts in breast cancer survivors from the Bahamas.

The purpose of this research was to examine the correlates of dysfunctional career thoughts (DCTs) in a sample of breast cancers survivors. A total of 195 breast cancer survivors from the Bahamas completed a cross-sectional survey. The Career Thoughts Inventory (CTI) and standard medical and demographic items were administered.

Comparing the Performance of Approaches for Testing the Homogeneity of Variance Assumption in One-Factor ANOVA Models.

Various tests to check the homogeneity of variance assumption have been proposed in the literature, yet there is no consensus as to their robustness when the assumption of normality does not hold. This simulation study evaluated the performance of 14 tests for the homogeneity of variance assumption in one-way ANOVA models in terms of Type I error control and statistical power. Seven factors were manipulated: number of groups, average number of observations per group, pattern of sample sizes in groups, pattern of population variances, maximum variance ratio, population distribution shape, and nominal alpha level for the test of variances.

Predicting group-level outcome variables: An empirical comparison of analysis strategies.

This study provides a review of two methods for analyzing multilevel data with group-level outcome variables and compares them in a simulation study. The analytical methods included an unadjusted ordinary least squares (OLS) analysis of group means and a two-step adjustment of the group means suggested by Croon and van Veldhoven (2007). The Type I error control, power, bias, standard errors, and RMSE in parameter estimates were compared across design conditions that included manipulations of number of predictor variables, level of correlation between predictors, level of intraclass correlation, predictor reliability, effect size, and sample size.

Social Determinants of Health and Adolescent Pregnancy: An Analysis From the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health.

Purpose: Although rates of adolescent pregnancy are at an all-time low in the United States, racial/ethnic and geographic disparities persist. This research used National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) data to analyze empirical relationships between social determinants of health (SDoH) and adolescent pregnancy. Examining relationships between the SDoH and adolescent pregnancy provides support for funding priorities and interventions that expand on the current focus on individual- and interpersonal-level factors.

How Do Propensity Score Methods Measure Up in the Presence of Measurement Error? A Monte Carlo Study.

Considering that the absence of measurement error in research is a rare phenomenon and its effects can be dramatic, we examine the impact of measurement error on propensity score (PS) analysis used to minimize selection bias in behavioral and social observational studies. A Monte Carlo study was conducted to explore the effects of measurement error on the treatment effect and balance estimates in PS analysis across seven different PS conditioning methods. In general, the results indicate that even low levels of measurement error in the covariates lead to substantial bias in estimates of treatment effects and concomitant reduction in confidence interval coverage across all methods of conditioning on the PS.

Pap test adherence, cervical cancer perceptions, and HPV knowledge among HIV-infected women in a community health setting.

The Health Belief Model (HBM) has been widely used as a framework to explain health behaviors in diverse populations, but little HBM research has focused on HIV-infected women and their increased risks for cervical cancer. We used Champion's Health Belief Model and Self-Efficacy scales to assess relationships between Pap test adherence and constructs of the HBM among 300 HIV-infected women. In addition, we assessed the relationship between HPV and cervical cancer knowledge and key HBM concepts.

Age-related variation in sexual behaviours among heterosexual men residing in Brazil, Mexico and the USA.

Objective: To compare the prevalence of demographic characteristics and sexual behaviours across age groups and to estimate their significance in predicting sexual risk factors by age cohort.

Methods: This cohort study examined sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevalence among heterosexual men in Brazil, Mexico and the USA (N=3047). Participants completed a sexual risk factor questionnaire and were tested for chlamydia, gonorrhoea, syphilis and genital herpes.

Use of design effects and sample weights in complex health survey data: a review of published articles using data from 3 commonly used adolescent health surveys.

Objectives: We assessed how frequently researchers reported the use of statistical techniques that take into account the complex sampling structure of survey data and sample weights in published peer-reviewed articles using data from 3 commonly used adolescent health surveys.

Methods: We performed a systematic review of 1003 published empirical research articles from 1995 to 2010 that used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (n=765), Monitoring the Future (n=146), or Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (n=92) indexed in ERIC, PsycINFO, PubMed, and Web of Science.

Results: Across the data sources, 60% of articles reported accounting for design effects and 61% reported using sample weights.

Statewide cancer clinical trial navigation service.

Purpose: Realizing that education and awareness are paramount in making clinical trials available to improve overall accrual rates, we sought to create a clinical trial navigation service to improve the accessibility of cancer clinical trials in Florida for physicians and patients. This study was undertaken to evaluate this service. We hoped to identify characteristics of our service that were effective in promoting clinical trial enrollment and to better understand barriers that prevented enrollment.

A Meta-Meta-Analysis: Empirical Review of Statistical Power, Type I Error Rates, Effect Sizes, and Model Selection of Meta-Analyses Published in Psychology.

This article uses meta-analyses published in Psychological Bulletin from 1995 to 2005 to describe meta-analyses in psychology, including examination of statistical power, Type I errors resulting from multiple comparisons, and model choice. Retrospective power estimates indicated that univariate categorical and continuous moderators, individual moderators in multivariate analyses, and tests of residual variability within individual levels of categorical moderators had the lowest and most concerning levels of power. Using methods of calculating power prospectively for significance tests in meta-analysis, we illustrate how power varies as a function of the number of effect sizes, the average sample size per effect size, effect size magnitude, and level of heterogeneity of effect sizes.

A SAS macro for statistical power calculations in meta-analysis.

Although statistical power is often considered in the design of primary research studies, it is rarely considered in meta-analysis. Background and guidelines are provided for conducting power analysis in meta-analysis, followed by the presentation of a SAS macro that calculates power using the methods described by Hedges and Pigott (2001, 2004). Several detailed examples are given, including input statements and output.

A pilot study to modify the SF-36V physical functioning scale for use with veterans with spinal cord injury.

Objective: To develop a valid and reliable spinal cord injury (SCI) specific physical functioning (PF) scale for the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) version of the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey.

Design: A mixed qualitative and quantitative research design was used. In phase 1, a pool of SCI-specific PF items was generated based on focus groups with patients and health care providers.

RETR_PWR: an SAS macro for retrospective statistical power analysis.

In contrast to prospective power analysis, retrospective power analysis provides an estimate of the statistical power of a hypothesis test after an investigation has been conducted rather than before. In this article, three approaches to obtaining point estimates of power and an interval estimation algorithm are delineated. Previous research on the bias and sampling error of these estimates is briefly reviewed.

A method to measure the impact of primary care programs targeted to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in health outcomes.

A retrospective population-based study was designed to test the impact on selected health outcomes of community-based primary care programs targeting racial and ethnic minorities. Zip codes were coded as either "high" or "low" access to targeted primary care programs to create the independent variable of interest. Outcome measures were chosen to represent unique dimensions of primary care.