Rev Epidemiol Sante
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Rev Epidemiol Sante · Apr 2011
Comparative StudySituation testing: the case of health care refusal.
Situation testing to assess physicians' refusal to provide healthcare is increasingly used in research studies. This paper aims to explain the relevance and limits of this method. ⋯ The discussion presents the limits of situation testing, which remains an experimental instrument because it does not observe reality but reveals behaviors in situation. The findings cannot be extrapolated and are limited in time. The statistical analysis is only valid if the procedure followed is precise and applied consistently using a preset scenario. In addition, the discriminatory nature of the refusal (CMUc coverage) must be confirmed by a validation procedure (unless clearly stated by the interlocutor).
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Rev Epidemiol Sante · Dec 2010
[Burden of herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia: Incidence, proportion, and associated costs in the French population aged 50 or over].
Despite the perspective of vaccination against herpes zoster, there are few recent data available on the incidence of this disease, the proportion of postherpetic neuralgia cases, and associated disease management costs. This study was performed to evaluate these parameters in a representative sample of French physicians. ⋯ In this study, the incidence of herpes zoster observed in France in subjects aged 50 years and above is close to that already estimated in France and Europe. The proportion of postherpetic neuralgia is high and this painful complication may persist for several months after diagnosis of herpes zoster. To our knowledge, EPIZOD is the first study conducted in France to assess the cost of herpes zoster and of postherpetic neuralgia, the most frequent complication of this viral disease.
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Rev Epidemiol Sante · Oct 2009
Editorial Historical Article[Toward epistemology and history of epidemiology].
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Rev Epidemiol Sante · Aug 2009
[Tobacco consumption among young adults in the two French departments of Savoie in 2008].
As a result of tobacco control measures in France, smoking among adolescents is decreasing. However, this decrease is associated with changes in the way youth are consuming tobacco and turning towards new tobacco products: cheaper forms of tobacco such as rolling or chewing tobacco, or fashionable forms such as narghile. The aim of this study is to describe in young adults: (1) prevalence of tobacco use and main risk factors of daily smoking, (2) the entry mode for tobacco use and (3) prevalence and main risk factors related to "chewing tobacco" used as snuff. ⋯ As found in national studies, cigarette smoking is declining among young adults, but the use of other tobacco products (narghile, chewing tobacco) is emerging. The relatively high consumption rate and the risk factors of chewing tobacco need to be examined in depth in order to organize prevention programs for young adults.
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Rev Epidemiol Sante · Aug 2009
[Application of detecting and taking overdispersion into account in Poisson regression model].
Researchers often use the Poisson regression model to analyze count data. Overdispersion can occur when a Poisson regression model is used, resulting in an underestimation of variance of the regression model parameters. Our objective was to take overdispersion into account and assess its impact with an illustration based on the data of a study investigating the relationship between use of the Internet to seek health information and number of primary care consultations. ⋯ Different methods exist to solve the problem of underestimating variance in the Poisson regression model when overdispersion is present. The negative binomial regression model seems to be particularly accurate because of its theorical distribution ; in addition this regression is easy to perform with ordinary statistical software packages.