Scanlan’s Rule Bibliography
(Oct. 3, 2014)
Listed in Section A are published articles or extended papers from conferences or workshops (including several blog posts and one published letter to the editor) addressing the patterns by which standard measures of differences between outcome rates tend to be systematically affected by the prevalence of an outcome. Other materials addressing these issues, in addition to the several score pages or subpages of jpscanlan.com devoted to measurement issues, include over 20 conference or workshop presentations with or without accompanying written paper (made available in Section B of the Measuring Health Disparities page (MHD) of jpscanlan.com) and over 140 online comments to medical and health policy journals, ranging from several hundred to several thousand words (and made available in Section D Section D of the MHD). Certain of these comments are listed in Section B of this page. Extended discussion of the patterns by which measures tend to be affected by the prevalence of an outcome may also be found in letters to institutions whose activities are undermined by the failure to recognize such patterns. These letters focus on the particular activities of the institutional recipient. They include letters to Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (Apr. 8, 2009), National Quality Forum (Oct. 22, 2009), Institute of Medicine (June 1, 2010) , The Commonwealth Fund (June 1, 2010), United States Department of Education (Apr. 18, 2012), United States Department of Justice (Apr. 23, 2012), Federal Reserve Board (March 4, 2013), Harvard University (Oct. 9, 2012), Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital (Oct. 26, 2012), Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (Apr. 1, 2013), the Mailman School of Public Health of Columbia University (May 24, 2013), the Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee of House Finance Committee (Dec. 4, 2013), Education Trust (April 30, 2014), Annie E. Casey Foundation (May 13, 2014), Institute of Medicine II (May 28, 2014), IDEA Data Center (Aug. 11, 2014), Education Law Center (Aug. 14, 2014), and Government Accountability Office, Financial Markets and Community Investment Program (Sept. 9, 2014). The October 9, 2012 letter to Harvard University, which was written in conjunction with an October 17, 2012 Applied Statistics Workshop at Harvard’s Institute for Quantitative Social Science (“The Mismeasure of Group Differences in the Law and the Social and Medical Sciences”), contains one of the more extended discussions of the measurement issues.
A. Published Articles and Extended Papers etc.
“Race and Mortality Revisited,” Society (July/August 2014)
http://jpscanlan.com/images/Race_and_Mortality_Revisited.pdf
“The Perverse Enforcement of Fair Lending Laws,” Mortgage Banking (May 2014)
http://jpscanlan.com/disciplinedisparities/marylanddisparities.html
“Measuring Health and Healthcare Disparities,” Proceedings of the Federal Committee on Statistical Methodology 2013 Research Conference (Apr. 2014)
http://jpscanlan.com/images/2013_Fed_Comm_on_Stat_Meth_paper.pdf
“The Proof is in the Pattern,” Minneapolis Star Tribune (Feb. 8, 2014)
http://www.startribune.com/opinion/commentaries/244080771.html
“Things Government Doesn’t Know About Racial Disparities,” The Hill (Jan. 28, 2014).
http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/civil-rights/196543-things-the-legislative-and-executive-branches-dont-know
“Let's Hope Insurer Lawsuit Makes HUD Rethink 'Disparate Impact'” American Banker (Jan. 8, 2014):
http://www.americanbanker.com/bankthink/lets-hope-insurer-lawsuit-makes-hud-rethink-disparate-impact-1064746-1.html
“The Mismeasure of Discrimination,” Faculty Workshop, University of Kansas School of Law, Sept. 20, 2013: http://jpscanlan.com/images/Univ_Kansas_School_of_Law_Faculty_Workshop_Paper.pdf
“The Paradox of Lowering Standards,” Baltimore Sun (Aug. 5, 2013):
http://jpscanlan.com/images/Paradox_of_Lowering_Standards.pdf
“Regulators Need Schooling on Measuring Lending Bias,” American Banker (June 14, 2013):
http://www.americanbanker.com/bankthink/regulators-need-schooling-on-measuring-lending-bias-1059849-1.html
“Fair Lending Studies Paint Incomplete Picture,” American Banker (April 24, 2013): http://www.americanbanker.com/bankthink/fair-lending-studies-paint-incomplete-picture-1058574-1.html
“Misunderstanding of Statistics Leads to Misguided Law Enforcement Policies,” Amstat News, (Dec. 2012):
http://magazine.amstat.org/blog/2012/12/01/misguided-law-enforcement/
“Statistical Quirks Confound Lending Bias Claims,” American Banker (August 14, 2012): http://www.americanbanker.com/bankthink/statistical-quirks-confound-lending-bias-claims-1051789-1.html
“Racial Differences in School Discipline Rates,” The Recorder (June 22, 2012): http://www.law.com/jsp/ca/PubArticleCA.jsp?id=1202560408532&Viewpoint_Racial_Differences_in_School_Discipline_Rates
“’Disparate Impact’: Regulators Need a Lesson in Statistics,” American Banker (June 5, 2012): http://www.americanbanker.com/bankthink/disparate-impact-regulators-need-a-lesson-in-statistics-1049886-1.html
“The Lending Industry’s Conundrum,” National Law Journal (Apr. 2, 2012): http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202547386988&The_lending_industrys_conundrum&slreturn=1
“The Misinterpretation of Health Inequalities in the United Kingdom,” British Society for Populations Studies Conference 2006, Southampton, England, Sept. 18-20, 2006:
http://www.jpscanlan.com/images/BSPS_2006_Complete_Paper.pdf
“Can We Actually Measure Health Disparities?,” Chance 19(2) (Spring 2006) :47-5.1 : http://www.jpscanlan.com/images/Can_We_Actually_Measure_Health_Disparities.pdf
“Measuring health disparities.” J Public Health Manag Pract 2006;12(3):293-296 [lttr]: http://www.nursingcenter.com/library/JournalArticle.asp?Article_ID=641470
“Statistical Proof of Discrimination,” in Affirmative Action, An Encyclopedia (James A. Beckman ed.) Greenwood Press, 2004, 838-40: http://jpscanlan.com/images/Statistical_Proof_of_Discrimination.pdf
“Understanding Racial Differences in Infant Mortality,” Prenatal Ed Update (Oct. 2000): http://www.jpscanlan.com/images/Understanding_Racial_Differences_in_Infant_Mortality.pdf
“Race and Mortality,” Society 37(2) (Jan/Feb 2000), 29-35 (reprinted in Current (Feb. 2000)): http://jpscanlan.com/images/Race_and_Mortality.pdf
“Both Sides Misuse Data in the Credit Discrimination Debate,” American Banker (July 22, 1998):http://jpscanlan.com/images/American_Banker_7-22-98.pdf
“Responsive Banks Hurt By Improper Data Interpretation,” Montgomery Journal (May 5, 1998)
“Perils of Using Statistics to Show Presence or Absence of Loan Bias,” American Banker (Jan. 3, 1997): http://jpscanlan.com/images/American_Banker_1-3-97.pdf
“Statistical Anomaly Penalizes Fair-Lending Effort,” American Banker (Nov. 18, 1996): http://jpscanlan.com/images/American_Banker_11-18-96_.pdf
“Mired in Numbers,” Legal Times (Oct. 21, 1996): http://jpscanlan.com/images/Mired_in_Numbers.pdf
“When Statistics Lie,” Legal Times (Jan. 1, 1996): http://jpscanlan.com/images/When_Statistics_Lie.pdf
“Divining Difference,” Chance 7(4) (Fall 1994), 38-39, 48: http://jpscanlan.com/images/Divining_Difference.pdf
“Getting it Straight When Statistics Can Lie,” Legal Times (June 28, 1993): http://jpscanlan.com/images/Getting_it_Straight_When_Statistics_Can_Lie.pdf
“Bias Data Can Make the Good Look Bad,” American Banker (Apr. 27, 1992): http://jpscanlan.com/images/American_Banker_4-27-92.pdf
“The Perils of Provocative Statistics,” Public Interest 102 (Winter, 1991), 3-14 (reprinted in the Course Reader for “Quantitative Reasoning and Statistical Methods in Planning I” at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology): http://jpscanlan.com/images/The_Perils_of_Provocative_Stat.pdf
“Comment on McLanahan, Sorensen, and Watson's ' Sex Differences in Poverty, 1950‑1980,'” Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 16(2), 409-13: http://www.jpscanlan.com/images/Signs_Comment.pdf
“An Issue of Numbers,” National Law Journal (Mar. 5, 1990): http://www.jpscanlan.com/images/An_Issue_of_Numbers.pdf
“'Feminization of Poverty' is Misunderstood,” Cleveland Plain Dealer (Oct. 9, 1987) (reprinted in Current (May, 1988) and Annual Editions: Social Problems 1989/90 (1989)): http://www.jpscanlan.com/images/Poverty_and_Women.pdf
B. Selected Journal Comments
The monitoring of health inequalities has never been sound. BMJ Nov. 9, 2012 (responding to Marmot M, Goldblatt P. Importance of monitoring health inequalities. BMJ 2013;347:f6576): http://www.bmj.com/content/347/bmj.f6576/rr/671152
There are important differences between disparities in survival and disparities in mortality. BMC Cancer Oct. 16, 2013 (responding to Yu XQ. Socioeconomic disparities in breast cancer survival: relation to stage at diagnosis, treatment and race. BMC Cancer 2009, 9:364: doi:10.1186/1471-2407-9-364): http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2407/9/364/comments#1563696
Goodbye to the rate ratio. BMJ Feb. 25, 2013 (responding to Hingorani AD, van der Windt DA, Riley RD, et al. Prognosis research strategy (PROGRESS) 4: Stratified medicine research. BMJ2013;346:e5793): http://www.BMJ.com/content/346/BMJ.e5793/rr/632884
The need for new thinking about how to measure disparities. BMJ Feb. 4, 2013 (responding to Epstein K. Persistent health disparities in the US signal for new thinking. BMJ 2012;345:e6204 doi: 10.1136/BMJ.e620): http://www.BMJ.com/content/345/BMJ.e6204/rr/628910
Discussions of relative and absolute differences cannot ignore that there are two relative differences. BMJ Nov. 8, 2012 (responding to King NB, Harper S, Young ME. Use of relative and absolute effect measure in reporting health inequalities: structured review. BMJ 2012;345:e544 doi: 10.1136/BMJ.e5774): http://www.BMJ.com/content/345/BMJ.e5774/rr/613496
Clarity in the reporting of health equity issues requires addressing measurement issues. PLoS Medicine Nov. 3, 2012 ( responding to The PLOS Medicine Editors (2012) Bringing Clarity to the Reporting of Health Equity. PLoS Med 9(10): e1001334. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001334): http://www.plosmedicine.org/annotation/listThread.action?inReplyTo=57571&root=57571
Assumption of constant relative risk reductions across different baseline rates is unsound. CMAJ Mar. 12, 2012 (responding to Barratt A, Wyer PC, McGinn T, et al. Tips for learners of evidence-based medicine: 1. Relative risk reduction, absolute risk reduction and number needed to treat. CMAJ 2004;171(4):353-358):
http://www.cmaj.ca/content/171/4/353.short/reply#cmaj_el_690714
Flaws in tools for measuring healthcare disparities can exacerbate those disparities. Health Aff (Millwood) Jan. 30. 2012 (responding to Blustein J, Weissman JS, Ryan AM. Analysis raised question of whether pay-for-performance in Medicaid can efficiently reduce racial and ethnic disparities. Health Aff (Millwood) 2011;30(6):1165-1175): http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/30/6/1165/reply
Estimation of treatment effects across a range of baseline rates should not be based on assumptions of either constant relative risks or constant odds ratios. Emerging Themes in Epidemiology Jan. 12, 2012 (responding to Wang H, Boissel JP, Nony P. Revisiting the relationship between baseline risk and risk under treatment. Emerging Themes in Epidemiology 2009;6:1): http://www.ete-online.com/content/6/1/1/comments
The inevitability of interaction. BMJ Dec. 19, 2011 (responding to Altman DG, Bland JM. Interaction revisited: the difference between two estimates. BMJ 2003;326:219): Altman DG, Bland JM. Interaction revisited: the difference between two estimates. BMJ 2003;326:219): http://www.BMJ.com/content/326/7382/219?tab=responses
Nomogram for calculating number needed to treat is based on an unsound premise. BMJ Dec. 8, 2011 (responding to Chatellier G, Zapletal E, Lemaitre D, et al. The number needed to treat: a clinically useful nomogram in its proper context. BMJ 1996;312:426-429): http://www.BMJ.com/content/312/7028/426?tab=responses
Ratio measures are not transportable. BMJ Nov. 11, 2011 (responding to
Schwartz LS, Woloshin S, Dvorin EL, Welch HG. Ratio measures in leading medical journals: structured review of underlying absolute risks. BMJ 2006;333:1248-1252): http://www.BMJ.com/content/333/7581/1248?tab=responses
Systematizing the analysis of effect heterogeneity requires rethinking some fundamentals. Trials June 1, 2011 (responding to Gabler NB, Naihua D, Liao D, et al. Dealing with heterogeneity of treatments effects: is the literature up to the challenge. Trials 2009,10:43): http://www.trialsjournal.com/content/10/1/43/comments#512684
Comparisons of the sizes of differences between black and white rates for different procedures are not informative without consideration of the overall levels for each procedure. Journal Review Mar. 28, 2008 (responding to Baicker K, Chandra A, Skinner JS, Wennberg JE. Who you are and where you live: how race and geography affect the treatment of Medicare beneficiaries. Health Affairs 2004:Var-33-Var-44).
http://jpscanlan.com/images/Baicker_Health_Affairs_2004.pdf
Study illustrates ways in which the direction of a change in disparity turns on the measure chosen. Pediatrics Mar. 27, 2008 (responding to Morita JY, Ramirez E, Trick WE. Effect of school-entry vaccination requirements on racial and ethnic disparities in Hepatitis B immunization coverage among public high school students. Pediatrics 2008;121:e547-e552): http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/121/3/e547.abstract/reply#pediatrics_el_36879
A study with a variety of problems. Journal Review June 2, 2007 (responding to Schulman KA, Berlin JA, Harless, et al. The effect of race and sex on physicians’ recommendations for cardiac catheterization. N Engl J Med 1999;340:618-26):
http://jpscanlan.com/images/Schulman_NEJM_1999.pdf