Alam N, Henry F J, Rahaman M M
International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Int J Epidemiol. 1989 Sep;18(3):697-700. doi: 10.1093/ije/18.3.697.
To estimate inaccuracy in a diarrhoea recall survey mothers of pre-school children in Teknaf, Bangladesh were interviewed every week from July 1980 through June 1983. Because the likelihood of an episode starting on any given day of the week should be equal, we were able to quantify any deviation observed. Results show an average of 34% less diarrhoea episodes reported prior to a 48-hour recall period in any week. The amount of reporting error was (a) directly related to the length of the recall period, and (b) inversely related to the severity of diarrhoea as indicated by presence of fever and frequency of motions. This analysis reveals that weekly diarrhoea recall surveys in Bangladesh underestimate severe diarrhoea cases by 20-22% and less severe cases by 42-44%. The findings also indicate that morbidity surveys based on lengthy recall are likely to mislead health planners with regard to the magnitude of the problem and the volume of resources required to combat it.
为了评估腹泻回顾性调查中的不准确性，1980年7月至1983年6月期间，每周对孟加拉国特克纳夫的学龄前儿童母亲进行访谈。由于腹泻在一周中任何一天开始的可能性应该是相等的，我们能够对观察到的任何偏差进行量化。结果显示，在任何一周内，48小时回顾期之前报告的腹泻发作平均减少34%。报告误差的大小(a)与回顾期的长度直接相关，(b)与腹泻的严重程度呈负相关，腹泻的严重程度由发热情况和排便频率表示。该分析表明，孟加拉国的每周腹泻回顾性调查低估了20%-22%的严重腹泻病例和42%-44%的不太严重的腹泻病例。研究结果还表明，基于长时间回顾的发病率调查可能会在问题的严重程度以及应对该问题所需的资源量方面误导卫生规划者。
