https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2023/05/10/1175303067/a-plastic-sheet-with-a-pouch-could-be-a-game-changer-for-maternal-mortality https://www.bmj.com/content/381/bmj.p1055 I love this study, in and of itself, because it is based on research that will save women's lives without spending a lot of money. I love it.  Here is a link to the original study . I learned about it from an NPR story about the research by Rhitu Chaterjee . I also love it because it is an accessible example of a bunch of statistics things: Dependent variables...operationalizing variables...why cross-cultural research and solutions aren't just lip service to diversity...how control groups in medical research are very different than control groups in psychology research...absolute vs. relative risk. -Dependent variables/operationalized variables: This study clearly illustrates the power of measurement and operationalization. The researchers wanted to create a way to better assess post-childbirth h...

NPR, as part of their series about discrimination in America , talked about how it is difficult to obtain a diverse research sample when your diverse research sample doesn't trust scientists. This story by Rob Stein is about public outreach attempts in order to gather a representative sample for a large scale genetic research study. The story is also about how historical occurrences of research violations live on in the memory of the affected communities. The National Institutes for Health is trying to collect a robust, diverse sampling of Americans as part of the All of Us initiative. NIH wants to build a giant, representative database of Americans and information about their health and genetics. As of the air date for this story, African Americans were underepresented in the sample, and the reason behind this is historical. Due to terrible violation of African American research participant rights (Tuskeegee, Henrietta Lacks), many African Americans are unwilling to partic...

You know what, I've been doing this blog for YEARS and I don't have a single example of moderation. Until now. This CNN story summarizes brand new research findings that indicate that alcohol and/or tobacco use mediate the relationship between drinking really hot tea and developing esophageal cancer. So, the really hot tea-cancer relationship does not exist in the absence of smoking and/or alcohol consumption, but it is there if you do indulge in either smoking or alcohol consumption. And writing this post reminded me of this Arrested Development moment: Aside: -This article could also be a good example of the need for cross cultural research: Americans don't love tea as much as other parts of the world do. And, super hot tea (145 degrees +) is very popular outside of the US and Europe. The present research was conducted in China.