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- Chapter 4.1 Basic principles in designing studies to assess the effects of interventions
Section 4: Study design
Chapter 4.1 Basic principles in designing studies to assess the effects of interventions
Research Methods for Health EDRM
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- Section 4: Study design
- Chapter 4.1 Basic principles in designing studies to assess the effects of interventions
- Chapter 4.2 Measuring the problem: Basic statistics
- Chapter 4.3 Cluster randomized trials
- Chapter 4.4 Collection and management of good quality data
- Chapter 4.5 Advanced statistical techniques
- Chapter 4.6 Health-related risk modelling
- Chapter 4.7 Evaluating economic impacts in health emergency and disaster risk management
- Chapter 4.8 Geographic information systems
- Chapter 4.9 Real-time syndromic surveillance
- Chapter 4.10 Using logic models in research and evaluation of Health EDRM interventions
- Chapter 4.11 Researching communication and communicating research in Health EDRM
- Chapter 4.12 Qualitative research
- Chapter 4.13 Addressing complexity through mixed methods
- Chapter 4.14 Natural experiments in a hazard context
- Chapter 4.15 Monitoring and evaluation
Authors: Clarke M, Rathnayake D.
Chapter 4.1 describes key factors to consider when developing a study to assess the effects of an intervention, action or strategy for health emergency and disaster risk management (Health EDRM), including:
- The importance of reliable and robust estimates of the effects of interventions.
- Minimizing the risk of bias.
- The role of randomized trials.
- Aspects of conducting prospective, comparative studies.
What is this chapter about?
Research into the effects of interventions relevant to Health EDRM provides an evidence base for policy makers and practitioners. Reliable and robust studies which compare the effects of interventions, actions or strategies can help decision-makers choose between alternatives when more than one might be suitable for an individual or population.
This chapter describes how studies that minimize the effects of biases and chance can be done in Health EDRM. It highlights important features for the design, conduct and interpretation of such studies. The chapter places particular emphasis on randomized trials because this design seeks to minimize bias when comparing interventions in order to generate reliable and robust estimates of their relative effects. Many of the key features of randomized trials discussed in this chapter are also applicable to other prospective studies in which individuals are recruited and followed up.
Case studies presented in the chapter:
- The APOP randomized trial of fish oil for attenuating posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms among rescue workers after the Great East Japan earthquake.
- Plan for a randomized trial of anaesthesia and pain management for patients with lower limb trauma after an earthquake.
- Planning an evaluation of strategies that would be implemented in a future Dengue outbreak in Sri Lanka.
What are the key messages of this chapter?
- People choosing between different interventions, actions and strategies need reliable and robust evidence on their relative effects.
- Such evidence needs to come from research that has minimized the effects of bias and chance.
- Randomized trials provide a means for testing interventions in such a way that any difference between the outcomes of the participants in the groups being compared are due to the effects of the intervention, or chance.
- Pre-planning a trial, or other prospective study, allows it to be ready to be activated when needed, for example in a sudden onset disaster.