Evidence map›Paper›PMID 21749720›Full record

ReviewBMC medical research methodology2011

A review of equity issues in quantitative studies on health inequalities: the case of asthma in adults.

Heather L Greenwood, Nancy Edwards, Amandah Hoogbruin, Eulalia K Kahwa, Okeyo N Odhiambo, Jack A Buong

Open access · goldAbstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in BMC medical research methodology, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
3.1field-weighted citation impact, top 8% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 8 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. The practical understanding and treatment of asthma.Clinical reviews in allergy & immunology · 2012
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.

Heather L GreenwoodInstitute of Population and Public Health, Canadian Institutes for Health Research, 312-600 Peter Morand Crescent, Ottawa, K1G 5Z3, Canada. hgree016@uottawa.ca
Nancy Edwards
Amandah Hoogbruin
Eulalia K Kahwa
Okeyo N Odhiambo
Jack A Buong
Great Lakes University of Kisumu · KEInstitute of Population and Public Health · CAKwantlen Polytechnic University · CAUniversity of the West Indies · JM

Funding

Canadian Institutes of Health Research
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe term 'inequities' refers to avoidable differences rooted in injustice. This review examined whether or not, and how, quantitative studies identifying inequalities in risk factors and health service utilization for asthma explicitly addressed underlying inequities. Asthma was chosen because recent decades have seen strong increases in asthma prevalence in many international settings, and inequalities in risk factors and related outcomes.

methodsA review was conducted of studies that identified social inequalities in asthma-related outcomes or health service use in adult populations. Data were extracted on use of equity terms (objective evidence), and discussion of equity issues without using the exact terms (subjective evidence).

resultsOf the 219 unique articles retrieved, 21 were eligible for inclusion. None used the terms equity/inequity. While all but one article traced at least partial pathways to inequity, only 52% proposed any intervention and 55% of these interventions focused exclusively on the more proximal, clinical level.

conclusionsWithout more in-depth and systematic examination of inequities underlying asthma prevalence, quantitative studies may fail to provide the evidence required to inform equity-oriented interventions to address underlying circumstances restricting opportunities for health.

Indexed as

AdultAsthmaHealth ServicesHumansRisk FactorsSocioeconomic FactorsTreatment Outcome

Identifiers

PMID21749720
PMCPMC3149599
OpenAlexW2156298041

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.