Encoding laboratory testing data: case studies of the national implementation of HHS requirements and related standards in five laboratories.

Objective: Assess the effectiveness of providing Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes (LOINC®)-to-In Vitro Diagnostic (LIVD) coding specification, required by the United States Department of Health and Human Services for SARS-CoV-2 reporting, in medical center laboratories and utilize findings to inform future United States Food and Drug Administration policy on the use of real-world evidence in regulatory decisions.

Materials And Methods: We compared gaps and similarities between diagnostic test manufacturers' recommended LOINC® codes and the LOINC® codes used in medical center laboratories for the same tests.

Results: Five medical centers and three test manufacturers extracted data from laboratory information systems (LIS) for prioritized tests of interest.

How well do mothers recall their own and their infants' perinatal events? A two-district study using cross-sectional stratified random sampling in Bihar, India.

Objective: Global monitoring of maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) programmes use self-reported data subject to recall error which may lead to incorrect decisions for improving health services and wasted resources. To minimise this risk, samples of mothers of infants aged 0-2 and 3-5 months are sometimes used. We test whether a single sample of mothers of infants aged 0-5 months provides the same information.

Are pre-school girls more likely to be under-nourished in rural Thatta, Pakistan?-a cross-sectional study.

Background: Pakistan ranks third lowest on a global gender index (2013) and 13(th) highest on the prevalence of underweight among under-five children (2010). Through this population-based study, we examined gender differentials in the prevalence of stunting, wasting and under-weight defined by World Health Organization (WHO) Growth Standard among rural pre-school Pakistani children.

Methods: We performed secondary analysis of data collected through a cross-sectional survey of Thatta district during 1992-93.

Associations with HIV testing in Uganda: an analysis of the Lot Quality Assurance Sampling database 2003-2012.

Beginning in 2003, Uganda used Lot Quality Assurance Sampling (LQAS) to assist district managers collect and use data to improve their human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/AIDS program. Uganda's LQAS-database (2003-2012) covers up to 73 of 112 districts. Our multidistrict analysis of the LQAS data-set at 2003-2004 and 2012 examined gender variation among adults who ever tested for HIV over time, and attributes associated with testing.

Sexual and Reproductive Health Among Ugandan Youth: 2003-04 to 2012.

Purpose: Suboptimal sexual and reproductive health (SRH) increases morbidity, mortality, and gender inequity and slows development. In Uganda, youths represent 20% of the population, and the burden of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), is substantial.

Methods: We analyzed survey data collected using the lot quality assurance sampling (LQAS) technique from two time periods, 2003-2004 and 2012.

Prevalence of head lice and hygiene practices among women over twelve years of age in Sindh, Balochistan, and North West Frontier Province: National Health Survey of Pakistan, 1990-1994.

Background: Head lice infestation is an infection of the scalp and skin which causes blood loss, discomfort, and social and psychological distress with the possibility of secondary bacterial infections occurring at scratch sites. In Pakistan, although some small scale studies have been conducted to investigate prevalence of head lice in school children and the general population, no population based estimates have been reported. The National Health Survey of Pakistan (NHSP 1990 - 94) was a nationally representative health examination survey of the Pakistani population.

Incidence and pattern of unintentional injuries and resulting disability among children under 5 years of age: results of the National Health Survey of Pakistan.

National estimates of injuries for children under 5 years based on population representative surveys are not readily available globally and have not been reported for developing countries. This study estimated the annual incidence, pattern and distribution of unintentional injuries according to age, gender, socio-economic status, urban/rural residence and disability caused among children aged under 5 years in Pakistan. The National Health Survey of Pakistan (NHSP 1990-94) is a nationally representative survey of households to assess the health profile of the country.

Comparison of estimates of under-nutrition for pre-school rural Pakistani children based on the WHO standard and the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) reference.

Objective: To compare estimates of under-nutrition among pre-school Pakistani children using the WHO growth standard and the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) reference.

Design: Prevalence of stunting, wasting and underweight as defined by WHO and NCHS standards are calculated and compared.

Setting: The data are from two cross-sectional surveys conducted in the early 1990s, the time frame for setting the baseline for the Millennium Development Goals: (i) National Health Survey of Pakistan (NHSP) assessed the health status of a nationally representative sample and (ii) Thatta Health System Research Project (THSRP) was a survey in Thatta, a rural district of Sindh Province.

Increasing differential mortality by educational attainment in adults in the United States.

Economic inequality has increased substantially in the United States since the early 1970s. Inequality in mortality increased from 1960 to 1986. To assess the trend in inequality in mortality the authors calculate age-adjusted mortality rates by educational attainment for 2000 and compare them with rates from 1960 and 1986, using relative and absolute indexes of inequality.

Incidence, patterns and severity of reported unintentional injuries in Pakistan for persons five years and older: results of the National Health Survey of Pakistan 1990-94.

Background: National level estimates of injuries are not readily available for developing countries. This study estimated the annual incidence, patterns and severity of unintentional injuries among persons over five years of age in Pakistan.

Methods: National Health Survey of Pakistan (NHSP 1990-94) is a nationally representative survey of the household.

The accuracy of address coding and the effects of coding errors.

Studies that estimate the influence of characteristics of place on health often use geocoded addresses to identify location of study subjects. This study uses housing built before 1990 selected for the 1995-2001 National Health Interview Survey (N=252,421) to develop a standard against which geocodes obtained from an address-coding program are compared. The results show that geocoding is generally accurate and is more successful in urban areas.

Social class, race/ethnicity and all-cause mortality in the US: longitudinal results from the 1986-1994 National Health Interview Survey.

Background: Occupational social class has become a leading indicator of social inequalities in health. In the US, economic sectors are distinct with respect to wages, benefits, job security, promotion ladders and working conditions. The growing economic sector of self-employed workers is characterized by lower wages and benefits, and greater job insecurity.

Social stratification, development and health in Pakistan: an empirical exploration of relationships in population-based national health examination survey data.

There is a growing literature on an overall direct relationship between health and social position in developed countries. The relationship, however, is less well documented in developing countries where social hierarchies are changing more rapidly, demographic and health transitions are less advanced, and this topic has received less attention from researchers than in some developed countries. This paper presents an empirical investigation of the relationship between social stratification and social development and population health using data on over 6000 adults from the National Health Survey of Pakistan, a nationally representative health examination survey of people in that country.

Influences of asthma and household environment on lung function in children and adolescents: the third national health and nutrition examination survey.

The authors examined influences of asthma and household environment (passive smoking, use of a gas stove, and having a dog or cat) on five measures of spirometric lung function among 8- to 16-year-old subjects, as measured cross-sectionally in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) (1988-1994). In regression models, independent variables included asthma status, household environmental factors, age, and anthropometric measurements. Regression analyses were weighted by the NHANES III examination sample weighting factor, and results were adjusted for clustering in the sampling design.