From Texts to Structured Documents: The Case of Health Practice Guidelines

This paper describes a system capable of semi-automatically filling an XML template from free texts in the clinical domain (practice guidelines). The XML template includes semantic information not explicitly encoded in the text (pairs of conditions and actions/recommendations). Therefore, there is a need to compute the exact scope of conditions over text sequences expressing the required actions. We present in this paper the rules developed for this task. We show that the system yields good performance when applied to the analysis of French practice guidelines

The Impact of the Physical Activity Policy Research Network

Introduction Lack of physical activity is one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century. The Physical Activity Policy Research Network (PAPRN) is a thematic network established in 2004 to identify determinants, implementation, and outcomes of policies that are effective in increasing physical activity. The purpose of this study is to describe the products of PAPRN and make recommendations for future research and best practices. Methods A mixed methods approach was used to obtain both quantitative and qualitative data on the network. First, in 2014, PAPRN's dissemination products from 2004 to 2014 were extracted and reviewed, including 57 publications and 56 presentations. Next, semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 25 key network participants from 17 locations around the U.S. The transcripts were transcribed and coded. Results The results of the interviews indicated that the research network addressed several components of its mission, including the identification of physical activity policies, determinants of these policies, and the process of policy implementation. However, research focusing on physical activity policy outcomes was limited. Best practices included collaboration between researchers and practitioners and involvement of practitioners in research design, data collection, and dissemination of results. Conclusions PAPRN is an example of a productive research network and has contributed to both the process and content of physical activity policy research over the past decade. Future research should emphasize physical activity policy outcomes. Additionally, increased partnerships with practitioners for collaborative, cross-sectoral physical activity policy research should be developed

Determinants of leisure time physical activity in rural compared with urban older and ethnically diverse women in the United States

STUDY OBJECTIVE—Determinants of leisure time physical activity (LTPA) in rural middle aged and older women of diverse racial and ethnic groups are not well understood. This study examined: (1) urban-rural differences in LTPA by sociodemographic factors, (2) urban-rural differences in LTPA determinants, and (3) the pattern of relations between LTPA determinants and LTPA.
DESIGN—A modified version of the sampling plan of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS) was used. Zip codes were selected with 20% or more of each of the following race/ethnic groups: African American, American Indian/Alaskan Native (AI/AN), and Hispanic. A comparison group of white women were also surveyed using standard BRFSS techniques.
PARTICIPANTS—Rural (n=1242) and urban (n=1096) women aged 40 years and older from the US Women's Determinants Study.
MAIN RESULTS—Rural women, especially Southern and less educated women, were more sedentary than urban women. Rural women reported more personal barriers to LTPA, cited caregiving duties as their top barrier (compared with lack of time for urban women), and had greater body mass indices. Rural women were less likely to report sidewalks, streetlights, high crime, access to facilities, and frequently seeing others exercise in their neighbourhood. Multivariate correlates of sedentary behaviour in rural women were AI/AN and African American race, older age, less education, lack of enjoyable scenery, not frequently seeing others exercise, greater barriers, and less social support (p<0.05); and in urban women, older age, greater barriers, less social support (p<0.05), and less education (p<0.09).
CONCLUSIONS—Rural and urban women seem to face different barriers and enablers to LTPA, and have a different pattern of determinants, thus providing useful information for designing more targeted interventions.


Keywords: leisure time physical activity; rural health; wome

Public health policy, evidence, and causation. Lessons from the studies on obesity

The paper addresses the question of how different types of evidence ought to inform public health policy. By analysing case studies on obesity, the paper draws lessons about the different roles that different types of evidence play in setting up public health policies. More specifically, it is argued that evidence of difference-making supports considerations about ‘what works for whom in what circumstances’, and that evidence of mechanisms provides information about the ‘causal pathways’ to intervene upon