Addressing the challenges of research with small populations

D.M. Korngiebel, M. Taualii, R. Forquera, R. Harris and D. Buchwald

American Journal of Public Health, 2015, vol. 105, issue 9, 1744-1747

Abstract: Public health policy relies on accurate data, which are often unavailable for small populations, especially indigenous groups. Yet these groups have some of the worst health disparities in the United States, making it an ethical imperative to explore creative solutions to the problem of insufficient data. We discuss the limits of widely applied methods of dataaggregationandpropose a mixed-methods approach to data borrowing as away to augment sample sizes. In this approach, community partners assist in selecting related populations thatmake suitable "neighbors" to enlarge thedatapool. The resultwill be data that are substantial, accurate, and relevant to the needs of small populations, especially for health-related policy and decision-making at all levels.

Keywords: American Indian; ancestry group; health care policy; health survey; human; methodology; minority group; procedures; sample size; statistics and numerical data; United States, Continental Population Groups; Health Policy; Humans; Indians, North American; Minority Groups; Public Health Surveillance; Research Design; Sample Size; United States (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2015.302783_5

DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2015.302783

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