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Biomedical subjects

J Trussell

Publications and source records attributed to J Trussell.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1981

Proportional hazards life table models: an illustrative analysis of socio-demographic influences on marriage dissolution in the United States.

The proportional hazards life table is a recently developed approach to the analysis of survival data when mortality risks vary among individuals. It assumes that at a given age (or duration since the start of a life) the force of mortality is a constant (specific to that age) multiplied by a proportionality factor which is determined by the characteristics of the individual and does not change unless these covariates do. In this paper, the method is reviewed for the case where the covariates are fixed at the start of the lifetime and illustrated by an application to marital dissolution in the United States.

Actuarial Analysis↗
PubMed1979

A close look at the demography of Afghanistan.

The first survey designed to allow estimates of the demographic characteristics of Afghanistan's sedentary population was conducted during the period 1972-1974. Our analysis of these data, based on recently developed techniques for handling imcomplete or inaccurate data, suggests that this population lives under conditions that are extreme when judged by modern standards. Marriage is early, especially for females, and universal. Marital fertility conforms to a pattern of natural fertility and total fertility is high. The birth rate is among the highest in the world today, and the expectation of life at birth is among the very lowest. Mortality is lower in urban areas than in rural areas, whereas total fertility is approximately the same in both. Our estimates of fertility and mortality imply stable populations which match closely the observed age distributions for both the rural and urban areas.

Afghanistan↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Natural family planning effectiveness: evaluating published reports.

OBJECTIVE: To equip the reader with the tools necessary to evaluate studies of natural family planning (NFP) effectiveness found in the literature and to make recommendations for future NFP effectiveness studies. DESIGN: Current standards to evaluate contraceptive method effectiveness are reviewed. A framework for evaluating reports on NFP is presented. RESULTS: Most NFP studies found in the literature are flawed in design and do not calculate pregnancy rates correctly. The results from the few well-designed studies are presented. DISCUSSION: Many factors influence NFP effectiveness, and these factors must be considered when evaluating published studies and designing future studies.

Contraception↗
PubMedDate not supplied

What is the purpose of HIV antibody testing?

Considerable attention, both in the scientific literature and in the popular media, has focused recently on the accuracy of tests for HIV antibodies. Many have pointed to the dangers of falsely identifying persons as being infected, and they have stressed that the predictive power of a positive test result may be small in populations with a low prevalence of HIV infection. The purpose of this paper is to argue that the current testing/counseling protocols, which are designed to increase specificity at the expense of sensitivity, are inappropriate in high-prevalence groups.

AIDS Serodiagnosis↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Contraceptive failure, method-related discontinuation and resumption of use: results from the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth.

CONTEXT: Half of all pregnancies in the United States are unintended. Of these, half occur to women who were practicing contraception in the month they conceived, and others occur when couples stop use because they find their method difficult or inconvenient to use. METHODS: Data from the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth were used to compute life-table probabilities of contraceptive failure for reversible methods of contraception, discontinuation of use for a method-related reason and resumption of contraceptive use. RESULTS: Within one year of starting to use a reversible method of contraception, 9% of women experience a contraceptive failure--7% of those using the pill, 9% of those relying on the male condom and 19% of those practicing withdrawal. During a lifetime of use of reversible methods, the typical woman will experience 1.8 contraceptive failures. Overall, 31% of women discontinue use of a reversible contraceptive for a method-related reason within six months of starting use, and 44% do so within 12 months; however, 68% resume use of a method within one month and 76% do so within three months. Multivariate analyses show that the risk of contraceptive failure is elevated among low-income women and Hispanic women. Low-income women are also less likely than other women to resume contraceptive use after discontinuation. CONCLUSIONS: The risks of pregnancy during typical use of reversible methods of contraception are considerably higher than risks of failure during clinical trials, reflecting imperfect use of these methods rather than lack of inherent efficacy. High rates of method-related discontinuation probably reflect dissatisfaction with available methods.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Are all contraceptive failures unintended pregnancies? Evidence from the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth.

CONTEXT: The incidence of unintended pregnancy has long been used as a primary indicator of the state of reproductive health. However, the definition--and therefore the measurement--of this indicator has been elusive. METHODS: Data from the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) were used to compare levels of unintended pregnancy among contraceptive users based on two definitions--the standard definition based on women's reports of contraceptive failure, and the NSFG definition based on pregnancy timing (wanted then, wanted later, or not wanted then or in the future). An attitudinal scale was used to examine women's feelings about their unintended pregnancy. RESULTS: Of pregnancies classified as contraceptive failures under the standard definition, only 68% were unintended pregnancies--94% of those ending in abortion and 60% of those ending in birth. Just 59% of women with a contraceptive failure classified as an unintended pregnancy reported feeling unhappy or very unhappy about their pregnancy, while 90% of those with a failure classified as an intended pregnancy reported being happy or very happy. CONCLUSIONS: Measures of wantedness based on women's feelings about their pregnancy may correlate more closely with important pregnancy outcomes than do traditional measures of intendedness.

Adult↗