Jousting with the Lancet: Pajamas Media Interviews Professor Gilbert Burnham
mark olson said:
The WSJ had an article on this ridiculous study. The biggest but not only weakness in his “study” was the use of far too few clusters in his sample; perhaps 1/5 as many as should have been used.
The WSJ claim is false. Most such studies use 30 clusters while Burnham et. al.’s latest study (the Lancet article) used 50% more. Don’t you find it strange that most of the critics are laymen or scientists from outside the field of epidemiology?
The Australian newspaper The Age just published an article supporting the work. It was signed by:
Professor James A Angus, dean, faculty of medicine, dentistry and health sciences, University of Melbourne
Professor Bruce Armstrong AM, director of research, Sydney Cancer Centre; professor of public health and medical foundation fellow, University of Sydney
Dr Jim Black, head of epidemiology, Victorian Infectious Diseases Service
Professor Peter Brooks, executive dean, faculty of health sciences, University of Queensland
Professor Jonathan Carapetis, director, Menzies School of Health Research, Darwin
Dr Ben Coghlan, medical epidemiologist, Centre for International Health, Burnet Institute
Professor Mike Daube, professor of health policy, Curtin University
Associate Professor Peter Deutschmann, executive director, Australian International Health Institute, University of Melbourne
Associate Professor Trevor Duke, Centre for International Child Health, department of pediatrics, University of Melbourne
Professor Adele Green AC, deputy director, Queensland Institute of Medical Research
Associate Professor Heath Kelly, head, epidemiology unit, Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory
Professor Stephen Leeder AO, co-director, Menzies Centre for Health Policy; professor of public health and community medicine, University of Sydney; chairman, Policy and Advocacy Group, Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine
Professor Alan Lopez, head, School of Population Health; professor of medical statistics and population health, University of Queensland
Professor John Mathews AM, professorial fellow, School of Population Health, University of Melbourne
Professor A. J. McMichael, director, National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, ANU
Dr Cathy Mead PSM, president, Public Health Association of Australia, Canberra
Professor Rob Moodie, chief executive, Victorian Health Promotion Foundation
Professor Kim Mulholland, infectious disease epidemiology unit, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK
Professor Terry Nolan, head, School of Population Health, Melbourne University
Associate Professor Tilman Ruff, Nossal Institute for Global Health, University of Melbourne; president, Medical Association for Prevention of War
Associate Professor Peter Sainsbury, school of public health, University of Sydney
Dr Tony Stewart, medical epidemiologist, Centre for International Health, Burnet Institute
Professor Richard Taylor, professor of international health; head, division of international and indigenous health, School of Population Health, University of Queensland; director, Australian Centre for International and Tropical Health and Nutrition
Associate Professor Mike Toole, head, Centre for International Health, Burnet Institute
Associate Professor Paul J. Torzillo AM, University of Sydney; senior respiratory physician, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney; clinical director, respiratory and critical care services, Central Sydney Area Health Service
Dr Sue Wareham OAM, immediate past president, Medical Association for Prevention of War, Canberra
Professor Anthony Zwi, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, associate dean (international), faculty of medicine, NSW University.
Lila Guterman, senior reporter at The Chronical of Higher Education called 10 American empidemiologists and not one was critical of the methodology
