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Rawlings A, Hobby AE, Ryan B, Carson-Stevens A, North R, Smith M, Gwyn S, Sheen N, Acton JH. The burden of acute eye conditions on different healthcare providers: a retrospective population-based study. Br J Gen Pract 2024:BJGP.2022.0616. [PMID: 38438268 PMCID: PMC10947371 DOI: 10.3399/bjgp.2022.0616] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2022] [Accepted: 06/05/2023] [Indexed: 03/06/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The demand for acute eyecare exponentially outstrips capacity. The public lacks awareness of community eyecare services. AIM To quantify the burden of acute eyecare on different healthcare service providers in a national population through prescribing and medicines provision by GPs, optometrists, and pharmacists, and provision of care by accident and emergency (A&E) services. A secondary aim was to characterise some of the drivers of this burden. DESIGN AND SETTING A retrospective data-linkage study set in Wales, UK. METHOD Analysis of datasets was undertaken from the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage Databank (GP and A&E), the Eye Health Examination Wales service (optometry), and the Common Ailments Scheme (pharmacy) during 2017-2018. RESULTS A total of 173 999 acute eyecare episodes delivered by GPs (168 877 episodes) and A&E services (5122) were identified during the study. This resulted in 65.4 episodes of care per 1000 people per year. GPs prescribed a total of 87 973 653 prescriptions within the general population. Of these, 820 693 were related to acute eyecare, resulting in a prescribing rate of 0.9%. A total of 5122 eye-related and 905 224 general A&E attendances were identified, respectively, resulting in an A&E attendance rate of 0.6%. Optometrists and pharmacists managed 51.8% (116 868) and 0.6% (2635) of all episodes, respectively. Older females and infants of both sexes were more likely to use GP prescribing services, while adolescent and middle-aged males were more likely to visit A&E. GP prescribing burden was driven partially by economic deprivation, access to services, and health score. Season, day of the week, and time of day were predictors of burden in GP and A&E. CONCLUSION Acute eyecare continues to place considerable burden on GP and A&E services in Wales, particularly in urban areas with greater economic deprivation and lower overall health. This is likely to increase with a rapidly ageing population. With ongoing pathway development to better utilise optometry and pharmacy, and improved public awareness, there may be scope to change this trajectory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Rawlings
- Swansea University Medical School, Swansea University, Swansea
| | - Angharad E Hobby
- School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, and University of the West of England, Bristol
| | - Barbara Ryan
- School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff
| | - Andrew Carson-Stevens
- PRIME Centre Wales, Division of Population Medicine, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff
| | - Rachel North
- School of Optometry and Vision Sciences and PRIME Centre Wales, Division of Population Medicine, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff
| | - Mathew Smith
- School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff
| | - Sioned Gwyn
- PRIME Centre Wales, Division of Population Medicine, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff
| | - Nik Sheen
- Health and Education Improvement Wales (HEIW), Nantgarw
| | - Jennifer H Acton
- School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff
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Amele S, McCabe R, Kibuchi E, Pearce A, Hainey K, Demou E, Irizar P, Kapadia D, Taylor H, Nazroo J, Bécares L, Buchanan D, Henery P, Jayacodi S, Woolford L, Simpson CR, Sheikh A, Jeffrey K, Shi T, Daines L, Tibble H, Almaghrabi F, Fagbamigbe AF, Kurdi A, Robertson C, Pattaro S, Katikireddi SV. Quality of ethnicity data within Scottish health records and implications of misclassification for ethnic inequalities in severe COVID-19: a national linked data study. J Public Health (Oxf) 2024; 46:116-122. [PMID: 37861114 PMCID: PMC10901260 DOI: 10.1093/pubmed/fdad196] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2023] [Accepted: 02/21/2023] [Indexed: 10/21/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND We compared the quality of ethnicity coding within the Public Health Scotland Ethnicity Look-up (PHS-EL) dataset, and other National Health Service datasets, with the 2011 Scottish Census. METHODS Measures of quality included the level of missingness and misclassification. We examined the impact of misclassification using Cox proportional hazards to compare the risk of severe coronavirus disease (COVID-19) (hospitalization & death) by ethnic group. RESULTS Misclassification within PHS-EL was higher for all minority ethnic groups [12.5 to 69.1%] compared with the White Scottish majority [5.1%] and highest in the White Gypsy/Traveller group [69.1%]. Missingness in PHS-EL was highest among the White Other British group [39%] and lowest among the Pakistani group [17%]. PHS-EL data often underestimated severe COVID-19 risk compared with Census data. e.g. in the White Gypsy/Traveller group the Hazard Ratio (HR) was 1.68 [95% Confidence Intervals (CI): 1.03, 2.74] compared with the White Scottish majority using Census ethnicity data and 0.73 [95% CI: 0.10, 5.15] using PHS-EL data; and HR was 2.03 [95% CI: 1.20, 3.44] in the Census for the Bangladeshi group versus 1.45 [95% CI: 0.75, 2.78] in PHS-EL. CONCLUSIONS Poor quality ethnicity coding in health records can bias estimates, thereby threatening monitoring and understanding ethnic inequalities in health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Amele
- MRC/CSO Social & Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8TB, UK
| | - Ronan McCabe
- MRC/CSO Social & Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8TB, UK
| | - Eliud Kibuchi
- MRC/CSO Social & Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8TB, UK
| | - Anna Pearce
- MRC/CSO Social & Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8TB, UK
| | - Kirsten Hainey
- MRC/CSO Social & Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8TB, UK
| | - Evangelia Demou
- MRC/CSO Social & Public Health Sciences Unit, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8TB, UK
| | - Patricia Irizar
- Department of Sociology, School of Social Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
| | - Dharmi Kapadia
- Department of Sociology, School of Social Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
| | - Harry Taylor
- Department of Sociology, School of Social Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
| | - James Nazroo
- Department of Sociology, School of Social Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
| | - Laia Bécares
- Department of Global Health & Medicine, King's College London, London WC2B 4BG, UK
| | | | | | | | - Lana Woolford
- Usher Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH16 4SS, UK
| | - Colin R Simpson
- Usher Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH16 4SS, UK
- School of Health, Wellington Faculty of Health, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
| | - Aziz Sheikh
- Usher Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH16 4SS, UK
| | - Karen Jeffrey
- Usher Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH16 4SS, UK
| | - Ting Shi
- Usher Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH16 4SS, UK
| | - Luke Daines
- Usher Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH16 4SS, UK
| | - Holly Tibble
- Usher Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH16 4SS, UK
| | | | - Adeniyi Francis Fagbamigbe
- Institute of Applied Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB25 2ZD, UK
| | - Amanj Kurdi
- Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0RE, UK
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, Hawler Medical University, Kurditsan Region Governorate, Erbil, Iraq
- Department of Public Health Pharmacy and Management, School of Pharmacy, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, Pretoria 0204, South Africa
| | - Chris Robertson
- Public Health Scotland, Glasgow G2 6QE, UK
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G1 1XH, UK
| | - Serena Pattaro
- Scottish Centre for Administrative Data Research, School of Social Political Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow EH16 4UX, UK
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Davidson EM, Douglas A, Villarroel N, Dimmock K, Gorman D, Bhopal RS. Raising ethnicity recording in NHS Lothian from 3% to 90% in 3 years: processes and analysis of data from Accidents and Emergencies. J Public Health (Oxf) 2021; 43:e728-e738. [PMID: 33300567 PMCID: PMC7798973 DOI: 10.1093/pubmed/fdaa202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2020] [Revised: 08/11/2020] [Accepted: 10/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The disproportionate burden of COVID-19 on ethnic minority populations has recently highlighted the necessity of maintaining accessible, routinely collected, ethnicity data within healthcare services. Despite 25 years of supportive legislation and policy in the UK, ethnicity data recording remains inconsistent, which has hindered needs assessment, evaluation and decision-making. We describe efforts to improve the completeness, quality and usage of ethnicity data within our regional health board, NHS Lothian. METHODS The Ethnicity Coding Task Force was established with the aim of increasing ethnicity recording within NHS Lothian secondary care services from 3 to 90% over 3 years. We subsequently analysed these data specifically focusing on Accident and Emergency (A&E) use by ethnic group. RESULTS We achieved 91%, 85% and 93% completeness of recording across inpatients, outpatients and A&E, respectively. Analysis of A&E data found a mixed pattern of attendance amongst ethnic minority populations and did not support the commonly perceived relationship between lower GP registration and higher A&E use within this population. CONCLUSIONS We identified a successful approach to increase ethnicity recording within a regional health board, which could potentially be useful in other settings, and demonstrated the utility of these data in informing assessment of healthcare delivery and future planning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma M Davidson
- Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH16 4SB, UK
| | - Anne Douglas
- Usher Institute, Centre for Population Health Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9AG, UK
| | - Nazmy Villarroel
- Department of Sociological Studies, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TU, UK
| | - Katy Dimmock
- Directorate of Public Health and Health Policy, NHS Lothian, Waverley Gate, 2-4 Waterloo Place, Edinburgh EH1 3EG, UK
| | - Dermot Gorman
- Directorate of Public Health and Health Policy, NHS Lothian, Waverley Gate, 2-4 Waterloo Place, Edinburgh EH1 3EG, UK
| | - Raj S Bhopal
- Usher Institute, Centre for Population Health Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9AG, UK
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Petersen J, Kandt J, Longley PA. Ethnic inequalities in hospital admissions in England: an observational study. BMC Public Health 2021; 21:862. [PMID: 33947358 PMCID: PMC8097885 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-021-10923-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2020] [Accepted: 04/23/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Ethnic inequalities in health are well-known and partly explained by social determinants such as poorer living and working conditions, health behaviours, discrimination, social exclusion, and healthcare accessibility factors. Inequalities are known both for self-reported health and for diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, and non-specific chest pains. Most studies however concern individual diseases or self-reported health and do not provide an overview that can detect gaps in existing knowledge. The aim of this study is thus to identify ethnic inequalities in inpatient hospital admission for all major disease categories in England. METHODS Observational study of the inpatient hospital admission database in England enhanced with ethnicity coding of participants' surnames. The primary diagnosis was coded to Level 1 of the Global Burden of Disease groups. For each year, only the first admission for each condition for each participant was included. If a participant was readmitted within two days only the first admission was counted. Admission risk for all major disease groups for each ethnic group relative to the White British group were calculated using logistic regression adjusting for age and area deprivation. RESULTS 40,928,105 admissions were identified between April 2009 and March 2014. Ethnic inequalities were found in cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, chest pain, and diabetes in line with previous studies. Additional inequalities were found in nutritional deficiencies, endocrine disorders, and sense organ diseases. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study were consistent with known inequalities, but also found previously unreported disparities in nutritional deficiencies, endocrine disorders, and sense organ diseases. Further studies would be required to map out the relevant care pathways for ethnic minorities and establish whether preventive measures can be strengthened.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakob Petersen
- Consumer Data Research Centre (CDRC), Department of Geography, University College London (UCL), Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK.
| | - Jens Kandt
- The Bartlett Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis (CASA), Gower Street, UCL, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Paul A Longley
- Consumer Data Research Centre (CDRC), Department of Geography, University College London (UCL), Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
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Petersen J, Kandt J, Longley PA. Names-based ethnicity enhancement of hospital admissions in England, 1999-2013. Int J Med Inform 2021; 149:104437. [PMID: 33735828 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2021.104437] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2020] [Revised: 02/26/2021] [Accepted: 03/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Accurate recording of ethnicity in electronic healthcare records is important for the monitoring of health inequalities. Yet until the late 1990s, ethnicity information was absent from more than half of records of patients who received inpatient care in England. In this study, we report on the usefulness of a names-based ethnicity classification, Ethnicity Estimator (EE), for addressing this gap in the hospital records. MATERIALS AND METHODS Data on inpatient hospital admissions were obtained from Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) between April 1999 and March 2014. The data were enhanced with ethnicity coding of participants' surnames using the EE software. Only data on the first episode for each patient each year were included. RESULTS A total of 111,231,653 patient-years were recorded between April 1999 and March 2014. The completeness of ethnicity records improved from 59.5 % in 1999 to 90.5 % in 2013 (financial year). Biggest improvement was seen in the White British group, which increased from 55.4 % in 1999 to 73.9 % in 2013. The correct prediction of NHS-reported ethnicity varied by ethnic group (2013 figures): White British (89.8 %), Pakistani (81.7 %), Indian (74.6 %), Chinese (72.9 %), Bangladeshi (63.4 %), Black African (57.3 %), White Other (50.5 %), White Irish (45.0 %). For other ethnic groups the prediction success was low to none. Prediction success was above 70 % in most areas outside London but fell below 40 % in parts of London. CONCLUSION Studies of ethnic inequalities in hospital inpatient care in England are limited by incomplete data on patient ethnicity collected in the 1990s and 2000s. The prediction success of a names-based ethnicity classification tool has been quantified in HES for the first time and the results can be used to inform decisions around the optimal analysis of ethnic groups using this data source.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakob Petersen
- Consumer Data Research Centre (CDRC), Department of Geography, University College London (UCL), Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom.
| | - Jens Kandt
- The Bartlett Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis (CASA), Gower Street, UCL, London, WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
| | - Paul A Longley
- Consumer Data Research Centre (CDRC), Department of Geography, University College London (UCL), Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
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Turnbull J, McKenna G, Prichard J, Rogers A, Crouch R, Lennon A, Pope C. Sense-making strategies and help-seeking behaviours associated with urgent care services: a mixed-methods study. HEALTH SERVICES AND DELIVERY RESEARCH 2019. [DOI: 10.3310/hsdr07260] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
BackgroundPolicy has been focused on reducing unnecessary emergency department attendances by providing more responsive urgent care services and guiding patients to ‘the right place’. The variety of services has created a complex urgent care landscape for people to access and navigate.ObjectivesTo describe how the public, providers and policy-makers define and make sense of urgent care; to explain how sense-making influences patients’ strategies and choices; to analyse patient ‘work’ in understanding, navigating and choosing urgent care; to explain urgent care utilisation; and to identify potentially modifiable factors in decision-making.DesignMixed-methods sequential design.SettingFour counties in southern England coterminous with a NHS 111 provider area.MethodsA literature review of policy and research combined with citizens’ panels and serial qualitative interviews. Four citizens’ panels were conducted with the public, health-care professionals, commissioners and managers (n = 41). Three populations were sampled for interview: people aged ≥ 75 years, people aged 18–26 years and East European people. In total, 134 interviews were conducted. Analyses were integrated to develop a conceptual model of urgent care help-seeking.FindingsThe literature review identified some consensus between policy and provider perspectives regarding the physiological factors that feature in conceptualisations of urgent care. However, the terms ‘urgent’ and ‘emergency’ lack specificity or consistency in meaning. Boundaries between urgent and emergency care are ill-defined. We constructed a typology that distinguishes three types of work that take place at both the individual and social network levels in relation to urgent care sense-making and help-seeking.Illness workinvolves interpretation and decision-making about the meaning, severity and management of physical symptoms and psychological states, and the assessment and management of possible risks. Help-seeking was guided bymoral work: the legitimation and sanctioning done by service users.Navigation workconcerned choosing and accessing services and relied on prior knowledge of what was available, accessible and acceptable. From these empirical data, we developed a model of urgent care sense-making and help-seeking behaviour that emphasises that work informs the interaction between what we think and feel about illness and the need to seek care (sense-making) and action – the decisions we take and how we use urgent care (help-seeking).LimitationsThe sample population of our three groups may not have adequately reflected a diverse range of views and experiences. The study enabled us to capture people’s views and self-reported service use rather than their actual behaviour.ConclusionsMuch of the policy surrounding urgent and emergency care is predicated on the notion that ‘urgent’ sits neatly between emergency and routine; however, service users in particular struggle to distinguish urgent from emergency or routine care. Rather than focusing on individual sense-making, future work should attend to social and temporal contexts that have an impact on help-seeking (e.g. why people find it more difficult to manage pain at night), and how different social networks shape service use.Future workA whole-systems approach considering integration across a wider network of partners is key to understanding the complex relationships between demand for and access to urgent care.Study registrationThis study is registered as UKCRN 32207.FundingThe National Institute for Health Research Health Services and Delivery Research programme.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joanne Turnbull
- School of Health Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Gemma McKenna
- School of Health Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Jane Prichard
- School of Health Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Anne Rogers
- National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC) Wessex, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Robert Crouch
- Emergency Department, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust (UHS), Southampton, UK
| | - Andrew Lennon
- Southern Headquarters, South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SCAS), Winchester, UK
| | - Catherine Pope
- School of Health Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
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Kandt J, Longley PA. Ethnicity estimation using family naming practices. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0201774. [PMID: 30092008 PMCID: PMC6084909 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0201774] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2018] [Accepted: 07/20/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
This paper examines the association between given and family names and self-ascribed ethnicity as classified by the 2011 Census of Population for England and Wales. Using Census data in an innovative way under the new Office for National Statistics (ONS) Secure Research Service (SRS; previously the ONS Virtual Microdata Laboratory, VML), we investigate how bearers of a full range of given and family names assigned themselves to 2011 Census categories, using a names classification tool previously described in this journal. Based on these results, we develop a follow-up ethnicity estimation tool and describe how the tool may be used to observe changing relations between naming practices and ethnic identities as a facet of social integration and cosmopolitanism in an increasingly diverse society.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jens Kandt
- Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Paul A. Longley
- Department of Geography, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
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Abstract
This paper presents a method for classifying the ancestry of Brazilian surnames based on historical sources. The information obtained forms the basis for applying fuzzy matching and machine learning classification algorithms to more than 46 million workers in 5 categories: Iberian, Italian, Japanese, German and East European. The vast majority (96.7%) of the single surnames were identified using a fuzzy matching and the rest using a method proposed by Cavnar and Trenkle (1994). A comparison of the results of the procedures with data on foreigners in the 1920 Census and with the geographic distribution of non-Iberian surnames underscores the accuracy of the procedure. The study shows that surname ancestry is associated with significant differences in wages and schooling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonardo Monasterio
- Department of Regional, Urban and Environmental Studies, Institute for Applied Economic Research, Brasília, DF, Brazil
- Graduate School of Economics, Universidade Católica de Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil
- * E-mail:
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Crescenzi R, Nathan M, Rodríguez-Pose A. Do inventors talk to strangers? On proximity and collaborative knowledge creation. RESEARCH POLICY 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2015.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 98] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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Lewis DJ, Longley PA. Patterns of Patient Registration with Primary Health Care in the UK National Health Service. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2012. [DOI: 10.1080/00045608.2012.657500] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
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Mateos P, Longley PA, O'Sullivan D. Ethnicity and population structure in personal naming networks. PLoS One 2011; 6:e22943. [PMID: 21909399 PMCID: PMC3167808 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0022943] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2011] [Accepted: 07/01/2011] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Personal naming practices exist in all human groups and are far from random. Rather, they continue to reflect social norms and ethno-cultural customs that have developed over generations. As a consequence, contemporary name frequency distributions retain distinct geographic, social and ethno-cultural patterning that can be exploited to understand population structure in human biology, public health and social science. Previous attempts to detect and delineate such structure in large populations have entailed extensive empirical analysis of naming conventions in different parts of the world without seeking any general or automated methods of population classification by ethno-cultural origin. Here we show how ‘naming networks’, constructed from forename-surname pairs of a large sample of the contemporary human population in 17 countries, provide a valuable representation of cultural, ethnic and linguistic population structure around the world. This innovative approach enriches and adds value to automated population classification through conventional national data sources such as telephone directories and electoral registers. The method identifies clear social and ethno-cultural clusters in such naming networks that extend far beyond the geographic areas in which particular names originated, and that are preserved even after international migration. Moreover, one of the most striking findings of this approach is that these clusters simply ‘emerge’ from the aggregation of millions of individual decisions on parental naming practices for their children, without any prior knowledge introduced by the researcher. Our probabilistic approach to community assignment, both at city level as well as at a global scale, helps to reveal the degree of isolation, integration or overlap between human populations in our rapidly globalising world. As such, this work has important implications for research in population genetics, public health, and social science adding new understandings of migration, identity, integration and social interaction across the world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pablo Mateos
- Department of Geography University College London, London, United Kingdom.
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