Re: Computer advice needed for medical research project

[Tuan V Nguyen <t.nguyen@garvan.unsw.edu.au>]

Hello anh Huy and friends,

        This sounds to be an interesting project. Are you going 
to run a case-control study or a cohort study? Are you going to 
do DNA test or finding genetic things too? Will it involve 
interventional treatment? in what form? I am not clear about the 
number of subjects you want to study and on what basis? Would 
you mind send me a protocol (via email) so that I can have a 
look and offer suggestions?

        Re the computer software: here our IT people use a 
software called CRS (Clinical Reporting System) for data 
management. This packaga is specifically designed for clinical 
trial data base; it can also perform some simple statistical 
analyses such as t-test, chi-square and ANOVA. It runs on DOS 
(recommended) or Windows (not recommended). It costs around 
AUS$1000 (I can talk to you privately about this). 

	Sorry for bombarding you with many questions, but I am 
quite interested in the trial. I even think (only think) if I 
could incorporate bone measurement on these children? The reason 
is that if the condition affects a child's growth, then one way 
to measure it is via skeletal growth, i.e bone mineral density 
(BMD). It should be noted that we seriously lack BMD data on the 
Vietnamese. The problem is that in VN, as I gather, we do not 
have bone densitometry machines. If it is possible or feasible, 
I will think of ways to get support from US companies for the 
BMD measurements. Please get back to me about this.


        Kind regards,

	Tuan



At 08:15 AM 4/21/97 -0500, you wrote:
>Dear friends,
>
>In the Red River Delta, 90% of children are infected by intestinal worms.
>Intestinal worms may adversely affect development. Primary school children are 
>infected most severely. Primary school children are also at crucial stages in 
>their physical, mental and educational developments.
>
>The Partnership for Child Development at Oxford University is setting
>up medical trial to measure the benefits of killing intestinal worms
>and educational measures in school children in the Red River Delta.
>This trial will need to store data on age, height, weight, the level of
>some nutrients in blood, scores of cognitive tests, time to re-infection,
>etc, for children in either 100 schools (consisting of 80,000 children) or 100 
>sub-district (consisting of 800,000) children. The data is to be analysed
by SAS 
>or SPSS.
>
>Computer experts, what hardware, software and personel would you recommend
>for data entry and maintenance?
>
>Also, if a health institute in Hanoi (the one that is running the vitamin A
and 
>iodine programme) gives, say, worm medicine to some schools, a vitamin to 
>some others, worm medicine + vitamin to the rest, do the schools
>have the ability and the will to administer the stuff or to the children?
>If the schools are in the same sub-district, will the sub-distric authority or 
>school demand that all get the worm medicine or all get the vitamin?    
>
>Many thanks in advance.
>
>Huy
>
> 
>
>
>
>