相关论文: A hierarchical latent class model for predicting d…

The evaluation of nursing homes is usually based on the administration of questionnaires made of a large number of polytomous items. In such a context, the Latent Class (LC) model represents a useful tool for clustering subjects in…

Latent Class Models (LCMs) are used to cluster multivariate categorical data (e.g. group participants based on survey responses). Traditional LCMs assume a property called conditional independence. This assumption can be restrictive,…

In several countries, including Italy, a prominent approach to population health surveillance involves conducting repeated cross-sectional surveys at short intervals of time. These surveys gather information on the health status of…

Large Language Models (LLMs) routinely infer users demographic traits from phrasing alone, which can result in biased responses, even when no explicit demographic information is provided. The role of disability cues in shaping these…

Using sample surveys as a cost effective tool to provide estimates for characteristics of interest at population and sub-populations (area/domain) level has a long tradition in "small area estimation". However, the existence of outliers in…

The Pneumonia Etiology Research for Child Health (PERCH) study seeks to use modern measurement technology to infer the causes of pneumonia for which gold-standard evidence is unavailable. The paper describes a latent variable model designed…

We develop methods for analyzing discrete multivariate longitudinal data and apply them to functional disability data on the U.S. elderly population from the National Long Term Care Survey (NLTCS), 1982-2004. Our models build on a Mixed…

With reference to the questionnaire adopted within the Italian project "Ulisse" to assess health condition of elderly people, we investigate two important issues: discriminant power and actual number of dimensions measured by the items…

Latent class analysis (LCA) is a useful tool to investigate the heterogeneity of a disease population with time-to-event data. We propose a new method based on non-parametric maximum likelihood estimator (NPMLE), which facilitates…

Within the educational context, a key goal is to assess students acquired skills and to cluster students according to their ability level. In this regard, a relevant element to be accounted for is the possible effect of the school students…

Many people living in low- and middle-income countries are not covered by civil registration and vital statistics systems. Consequently, a wide variety of other types of data, including many household sample surveys, are used to estimate…

Improving health in the most disadvantaged populations requires reliable estimates of health and demographic indicators to inform policy and interventions. Low- and middle-income countries with the largest burden of disease and disability…

This paper devises a fully Bayesian sample size determination method for hierarchical model-based small area estimation with a decision risk approach. A new loss function specified around a desired maximum posterior variance target…

Latent class models have wide applications in social and biological sciences. In many applications, pre-specified restrictions are imposed on the parameter space of latent class models, through a design matrix, to reflect practitioners'…

An extension of the latent Markov Rasch model is described for the analysis of binary longitudinal data with covariates when subjects are collected in clusters, e.g. students clustered in classes. For each subject, the latent process is…

Poverty maps are used to aid important political decisions such as allocation of development funds by governments and international organizations. Those decisions should be based on the most accurate poverty figures. However, often reliable…

The need for rigorous and timely health and demographic summaries has provided the impetus for an explosion in geographic studies, with a common approach being the production of pixel-level maps, particularly in low and middle income…

Health surveys allow exploring health indicators that are of great value from a public health point of view and that cannot normally be studied from regular health registries. These indicators are usually coded as ordinal variables and may…

As the aging population grows, particularly for the baby boomer generation, the United States is witnessing a significant increase in the elderly population experiencing multifunctional disabilities. These disabilities, stemming from a…

Small area estimation using survey data can be achieved by using either a design-based or a model-based inferential approach. Design-based direct estimators are generally preferable because of their consistency, asymptotic normality, and…