Methods used for successful follow-up in a large scale national cohort study in Thailand

Background: Ensuring successful follow-up is essential when conducting a prospective cohort study. Most existing literature reviewing methods to ensure a high response rate is based on experience in developed nations. Findings: We report our 4-year follow-up success for a national cohort study examining the health transition underway in Thailand. We began the cohort study in 2005 with a baseline postal questionnaire sent to all 200,000 Thais enrolled as distance learning students at Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University and residing all over Thailand; 87,134 or 44% of the students responded. Subsequently we used University and national media to inform cohort members of study progress. Also, we prepared a health book with study results and health advice which was distributed to all cohort members. After 4 years we repeated the survey and achieved a 71% response rate. In this paper we report the methods used to achieve this response The initial follow-up mail-out generated a response rate of about 48% reflecting the extensive preparatory work between baseline and follow-up. After 4 rounds of telephone contact (more than 100,000 phone calls) and 4 related mail-out rounds progressively over 16 months an overall response rate was achieved of just over 71% (n = 60,774). The total cost was US$4.06/respondent - 19% for printing, 21% for postage, 14% for tape measures (included in mail-out), 18% for data processing 22% for prizes and 6% for telephone. Conclusions: Many of the methods reported as effective for mail questionnaire and cohort response rates held true for Thailand. These included being associated with a university, incentivating cooperation, follow-up contact, providing a second copy of questionnaire where necessary, and assurance of confidentiality. Telephone contact with the cohort and the small prizes given to responders were particularly important in the Thai context as was Thai leadership of the research team

Leptospirosis in the Asia Pacific region

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Leptospirosis is a worldwide zoonotic infection that has been recognized for decades, but the problem of the disease has not been fully addressed, particularly in resource-poor, developing countries, where the major burden of the disease occurs. This paper presents an overview of the current situation of leptospirosis in the region. It describes the current trends in the epidemiology of leptospirosis, the existing surveillance systems, and presents the existing prevention and control programs in the Asia Pacific region.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data on leptospirosis in each member country were sought from official national organizations, international public health organizations, online articles and the scientific literature. Papers were reviewed and relevant data were extracted.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Leptospirosis is highly prevalent in the Asia Pacific region. Infections in developed countries arise mainly from occupational exposure, travel to endemic areas, recreational activities, or importation of domestic and wild animals, whereas outbreaks in developing countries are most frequently related to normal daily activities, over-crowding, poor sanitation and climatic conditions.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In the Asia Pacific region, predominantly in developing countries, leptospirosis is largely a water-borne disease. Unless interventions to minimize exposure are aggressively implemented, the current global climate change will further aggravate the extent of the disease problem. Although trends indicate successful control of leptospirosis in some areas, there is no clear evidence that the disease has decreased in the last decade. The efficiency of surveillance systems and data collection varies significantly among the countries and areas within the region, leading to incomplete information in some instances. Thus, an accurate reflection of the true burden of the disease remains unknown.</p

The Prevalence of Sexually Transmitted Infections in Papua New Guinea: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Patellofemoral osteoarthritis (PF OA) is more prevalent than previously thought and contributes to patient's suffering from knee OA. Synthesis of prevalence data can provide estimates of the burden of PF OA