Edit page | Page history | Printable version

Capture-recapture method

Originally, a technique developed by biologists to track wild animal populations; now adapted for epidemiological studies of elusive human populations (e.g., prostitutes, teen runaways, iv drug users).By comparing data from several independent overlapping sample frames, it is possible to adjust for missing cases and to generate estimates of the prevalence of a given condition, for example, aids infection.