In reply to the invitation from Sally, you might like to read the paper
from NPEU analysing the very expensive data from the General
Practice Research Database:
Macfarlane A, Hockley C, McCandlish R, McNiece R. Can the
General Practice Research Database be used to monitor the health
and babies and their mothers? Health Statisitcs Quarterly 2002;
13: 5-15.
To download Health Statistics Quarterly, go to
www.statistics.gov.uk and then to bookshelf.
A one sentence conclusion is:
'Although the General Practice Research Database has proved
useful for investigating adverse outcomes of prescribed drugs, it
has considerable limitations for monitoring illnesss in new babies
and their mothers and cannot be used for investigating inequalities.'
Alison
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Alison Macfarlane
St Bartholomew School of Nursing and Midwifery
20 Bartholomew Close
West Smithfield Tel 0207 040 5832
London EC1A 7QN Email [log in to unmask]
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