Browsing by Subject "Statistics and Probability"
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Item Application of the Theory of Reasoned Action to Female Adolescent Sexual Behavior(2000-05-01) Gilbert-Cronen, Vanessa S.; Rene, Antonio; Goldfarb, Ronald H.; Urrutia-Rojas, XimenaGilbert-Cronen, Vanessa S., Application of the Theory of Reasoned Action to Female Adolescent Sexual Behavior. Doctor of Philosophy (Biomedical Sciences), May, 2000, 143pp., 25 tables, 8 illustrations, references, 170 titles. Objectives. This study evaluated the Theory of Reasoned Actions for its effectiveness in the prediction of the sexual intercourse intentions of a group of female high school adolescents. An expanded model which included a self-esteem measure was also assessed for its contribution to the model. Additionally, six-month follow up data was used to determine whether sexual intercourse intention predicted reported sexual behavior at follow-up. Methods. Data from the National Urban Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Program (NUAPPP), a longitudinal study conducted in 1997 and 1998 was used for this study. Tenth grade adolescent high school females (n=235) from two sites in Texas were selected to conduct a partial test of the Theory of Reasoned Action. The TRA model constructs attitudes and subjective norm were operationalized so that beliefs about sexual intercourse, attitudes towards pregnancy, perceived sexual beliefs about friends and parental communication beliefs were evaluated for their individual and combined effectiveness in the prediction of sexual intercourse intention. Results. Logistic analysis of individual model components showed significant associations between sexual beliefs (OR=5.75; 95% CI = 2.75, 11.98), pregnancy attitudes (OR=3.14; 95% CI=1.53, 6.44) perceived friend’s beliefs (OR=3.97; 95% CI = 1.57, 10.04) and sexual intercourse intention. When combined as a model, only sexual beliefs remained a significant predictor of intention (OR=4.02; 95% CI=1.79, 9.04). Evaluation of external variables showed past behavior to be a significant predictor of sexual intercourse intention (OR=32.59; 95% CI=12.56, 84.53). Conclusions. This study found the Theory of Reasoned Action to be inadequate in the prediction of adolescent female sexual intercourse intentions. The facts that individual constructs were significant predictors indicates a need for further research to understand the relationships between attitudes, beliefs, intention and behavior.Item Impact Analysis of Texas Child Fatality Review Teams on Incidence and Select Cause of Death Determination(2000-12-01) Migala, Witold M.; Doug A. MainsMigala, Witold M., Impact Analysis of Texas Child Fatality Review Teams on Incidence and Select Cause of Death Determination. Doctor of Philosophy (Biomedical Sciences), December 2000, 136 pp., 14 tables, reference list, 107 titles. To examine the impact of Child Fatality Review Teams (CFRT) on the overall death rates of children in Texas, those counties with CFRT representation were compared to counties without representation. Death rates for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and rates for death due to abuse, classified by ICD-9 coding, were also compared marked by CFRT representation. The Texas Department of Health’s Epigram database was used to collect death rate data. Age-adjusted death rates by gender, race/ethnicity, age group and cause of death were established for the five countries with CFRTs initiated in 1992; the two countries with teams initiated in 1993; and the 56 countries with teams initiated in 1994. These were compared to the death rates of counties without CFRT representation for the same years. Analyses were conducted by using t-tests, chi-square, and ARIMA statistics, and calculations of odds ratios and confidence intervals. The results of the inferential tests suggest that CFRT representation had a protective effect on children’s death rates contingent on the longevity of representation. Additional research regarding impact evaluation of multidisciplinary team representation on the incidence and rate of children’s deaths is recommended.Item Predictors of Complicated Staphylococcus Aureus Bacteremia: A Retrospective Validation Study(2008-04-01) Krishnamurthy, Pramod; Fischbach, Lori; Cardarelli, Roberto; Coggin, Claudia S.Krishnamurthy, P., Predictors of Complicated Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia (SAB): A Retrospective Validation Study. Master of Public Health (Epidemiology), April 2008, 57 pp, 9 tables, 1 illustration, bibliography, 39 titles. SAB often has a complicated clinical course and it is important to identify those at risk for complications to guide management. We conducted a validation study of a clinical prediction tool that uses a scoring system to predict the likelihood of developing complicated SAB. Chapter I is a review of background literature and rationale for our study. Chapter II has sections describing the study design, methods, eligibility criteria, statistical analysis and a summary of the results. We observed significantly higher complications among patients with SAB in our validation study. The prediction tool is not a valid predictor of complicated SAB and we recommend better prediction models to accurately predict complications of SAB.Item Review of Blunt Pancreatic Trauma and Its Outcome(2007-12-01) Sanghvi, ChiragSanghvi, Chirag. Review of Blunt Pancreatic Trauma and Its Outcome. Master of Public Health (Biostatistics), December 2007, 37 pp., 4 tables, bibliography, 42 titles. Blunt pancreatic trauma (BPT) is an uncommon injury involving 1%-2% of blunt abdominal traumas but it can be associated with a high complication rate. Various studies have shown complication rate to range from 30%-64% following blunt pancreatic injury. With Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval a retrospective chart review study was performed for last 12 years. Chart review failed to support the hospital assigned diagnosis of BPT in 3 patients, leaving 37 cases for analysis. BPT had an overall mortality rate of 22%. In the patients surviving the injury, early surgical intervention (≤12 hours) had a complication rate of 31% versus 57% for delayed surgical intervention ([greater than] 12 hours). BPT has a high mortality rate but is usually secondary to other organs involved in the injury. Delayed surgical intervention has a higher complication rate compared to early intervention.