This paper considers the use of multilevel models in health research. Attention focuses on
the structure and potential of such models and particular consideration is given to their use …

The use of process measures in the assessment of the quality of care has been neglected of
late. The outcomes movement has gathered momentum and process measurement appears …

Objective: To determine to what extent institutions carrying out in vitro fertilisation can
reasonably be ranked according to their live birth rates. Design: Retrospective analysis of …

The beauty of the Bayesian approach is its ability to structure complicated models, inferential
goals and analyses. To take full advantage of it, methods should be linked to an inferential …

Bayesian graphical modelling represents the synthesis of several recent developments in
applied complex modelling. After describing a moderately challenging real example, we …

" Quality" is the big issue which is currently fashionable in healthcare circles in several
industrialised countries. In the United Kingdom the government's White paper on the …

Multi-level modelling and Markov chain Monte Carlo methods are two areas of statistics that
have become increasingly popular recently due to improvements in computer capabilities …

The aim of this paper is to study the individual and contextual determinants of life satisfaction
in Italy. A hierarchical probit model is proposed for studying data with group structure and an …

Background Comparison of the outcomes of care provided by hospitals is a growing trend.
Outcomes need to be distinguished into those attributable to the practice of hospitals and …

Objectives: Increasingly health care performance data are being disseminated in the form of
'league tables' of health care providers, with the implication that such publication helps …