BMC Medical Research Methodology - Latest articlesThe latest articles from BMC Medical Research Methodology (ISSN 1471-2288) published by BioMed CentralDoes it matter whether the recipient of patient surveys in general practice is the general practitioner or an independent researcher The REPLY random- June 27, 2008 Background: Self-administered questionnaires are becoming increasingly common in general practice. Much research has explored methods to increase response rates but comparatively few studies have explored the effect of questionnaire administration on reported answers. Methods: The aim of this study was to determine the effect on responses of returning patient questionnaires to the respondents' medical practice or an independent researcher to questions relating to adherence and satisfaction...http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2288/8/42 Disagreement in primary study selection between systematic reviews on negative pressure wound therapy- June 26, 2008 Background: Primary study selection between systematic reviews is inconsistent, and reviews on the same topic may reach different conclusions. Our main objective was to compare systematic reviews on negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) regarding their agreement in primary study selection. Methods: This retrospective analysis was conducted within the framework of a systematic review (a full review and a subsequent rapid report) on NPWT prepared by the Institute for Quality and Ef-ficiency in...http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2288/8/41 Integrated analysis of incidence, progression, regression and disappearance probabilities- June 25, 2008 Background: Age-related maculopathy (ARM) is a leading cause of vision loss in people aged 65 or older. ARM is distinctive in that it is a disease which can transition through incidence, progression, regression and disappearance. The purpose of this study is to develop methodologies for studying the relationship of risk factors with different transition probabilities. Methods: Our framework for studying this relationship includes two different analytical approaches. In the first approach, one...http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2288/8/40 Workplace restructurings in intervention studies a challenge for design, analysis and interpretation- June 13, 2008 Background: Interventions in occupational health often target worksites rather than individuals. The objective of this paper is to describe the (lack of) stability in units of analysis in occupational health and safety intervention projects directed toward worksites. Methods: A case study approach is used to describe naturally occurring organizational changes in four, large, Nordic intervention projects that ran 35 years, covered 352 worksites, cost 0.25 mill2.2 mill , and involved 37...http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2288/8/39 Estimates of adherence and error analysis of physical activity data collected via accelerometry in a large study of free-living adults- June 9, 2008 Background: Activity monitors (AM) are small, electronic devices used to quantify the amount and intensity of physical activity (PA). Unfortunately, it has been demonstrated that data loss that occurs when AMs are not worn by subjects (removals during sleeping and waking hours) tend to result in biased estimates of PA and total energy expenditure (TEE). No study has reported the degree of data loss in a large study of adults, andor the degree to which the estimates of PA and TEE are affected....http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2288/8/38 Challenges of self-reported medical conditions and electronic medical records among members of a large military cohort- June 5, 2008 Background: Self-reported medical history data are frequently used in epidemiological studies. Self-reported diagnoses may differ from medical record diagnoses due to poor patient-clinician communication, self-diagnosis in the absence of a satisfactory explanation for symptoms, or the "health literacy" of the patient. Methods: The US Department of Defense military health system offers a unique opportunity to evaluate electronic medical records with near complete ascertainment while..http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2288/8/37 The changing causal foundations of cancer-related symptom clustering during the final month of palliative care: A longitudinal study- June 4, 2008 Background: Symptoms tend to occur in what have been called symptom clusters. Early symptom cluster research was imprecise regarding the causal foundations of the coordinations between specific symptoms, and was silent on whether the relationships between symptoms remained stable over time. This study develops a causal model of the relationships between symptoms in cancer palliative care patients as they approach death, and investigates the changing associations among the symptoms and between...http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2288/8/36 |