PMID- 19068120
OWN - NLM
STAT- PubMed-not-MEDLINE
DCOM- 20100623
LR  - 20211020
IS  - 1742-7622 (Electronic)
IS  - 1742-7622 (Linking)
VI  - 5
DP  - 2008 Dec 9
TI  - Interpreting results of cluster surveys in emergency settings: is the LQAS test 
      the best option?
PG  - 25
LID - 10.1186/1742-7622-5-25 [doi]
AB  - Cluster surveys are commonly used in humanitarian emergencies to measure health 
      and nutrition indicators. Deitchler et al. have proposed to use Lot Quality 
      Assurance Sampling (LQAS) hypothesis testing in cluster surveys to classify the 
      prevalence of global acute malnutrition as exceeding or not exceeding the 
      pre-established thresholds. Field practitioners and decision-makers must clearly 
      understand the meaning and implications of using this test in interpreting survey 
      results to make programmatic decisions. We demonstrate that the LQAS test--as 
      proposed by Deitchler et al.--is prone to producing false-positive results and 
      thus is likely to suggest interventions in situations where interventions may not 
      be needed. As an alternative, to provide more useful information for 
      decision-making, we suggest reporting the probability of an indicator's exceeding 
      the threshold as a direct measure of "risk". Such probability can be easily 
      determined in field settings by using a simple spreadsheet calculator. The "risk" 
      of exceeding the threshold can then be considered in the context of other 
      aggravating and protective factors to make informed programmatic decisions.
FAU - Bilukha, Oleg O
AU  - Bilukha OO
AD  - Division of Emergency and Environmental Health Services, National Center for 
      Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, 
      Georgia 30341, USA. obilukha1@cdc.gov
FAU - Blanton, Curtis
AU  - Blanton C
LA  - eng
PT  - Editorial
DEP - 20081209
PL  - England
TA  - Emerg Themes Epidemiol
JT  - Emerging themes in epidemiology
JID - 101232986
PMC - PMC2632626
EDAT- 2008/12/11 09:00
MHDA- 2008/12/11 09:01
PMCR- 2008/12/09
CRDT- 2008/12/11 09:00
PHST- 2008/08/25 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2008/12/09 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2008/12/11 09:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2008/12/11 09:01 [medline]
PHST- 2008/12/11 09:00 [entrez]
PHST- 2008/12/09 00:00 [pmc-release]
AID - 1742-7622-5-25 [pii]
AID - 10.1186/1742-7622-5-25 [doi]
PST - epublish
SO  - Emerg Themes Epidemiol. 2008 Dec 9;5:25. doi: 10.1186/1742-7622-5-25.