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Fri 2 Jul, 2010 05:24 pm
absent more than half the time = was absent in more than 50% of the surgical sites in low-income regions?
Context:
The results showed that all high-income regions had at least 14 surgical sites per 100,000 people. In contrast, those in low-income regions had less than 2 surgical sites per 100,000 despite having a higher burden of surgical disease. In addition, pulse oximetry was unavailable in nearly 20 percent of the surgical sites worldwide and absent more than half the time in low-income regions. The researchers estimated that around 32 million surgeries are performed each year without pulse oximetry, a basic standard of care that is available in more than 99 percent of operations done in high-income regions.
@oristarA,
The reporter has almost certainly inadvertently introduced another variable viz. 'time' when the intent was to convey 'unavailability' in more than 50% of hospitals (cf. they had the equipment but it was broken or on loan to others more often than not).
Yes, as has been pointed out by fobvius above, the author (or team, since this is obviously a medical journal type paper) had been slightly careless with the style. I would have read it as:
. . . and absent in more than half of the in low-income regions
However, I will also have to leave some margin for error since I cannot precisely explain what makes for 'pulse oximetry ,' and there may be a chance that it involves a time element too; as in being at a certain local hospital at a certain time of need.
As always, I would consistently hold that we would all be better off to be as careful with our language usage as possible...alas, the world doesn't spin quite that way.
Ori - if you diagram this pharase out, it would show:
oximetry was unavailable . . . and . . . absent (not available)
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