Insights into the Efficiency and Benefits of Staircase Cluster Randomized Trial Designs (MtG) скачать в хорошем качестве

Insights into the Efficiency and Benefits of Staircase Cluster Randomized Trial Designs (MtG)

Cluster randomized trials are essential tools for evaluating the impact of interventions delivered to all individuals within groups, or “clusters,” such as hospitals. Stepped wedge designs are an increasingly popular variant of standard cluster randomized trials that allow the intervention to be rolled out across all participating clusters in a randomized manner. These designs are appealing and potentially powerful, but they can be prohibitively burdensome because they require clusters to collect and provide data in all trial periods. A staircase design is a less burdensome alternative to the stepped wedge that requires only limited involvement from each cluster. The design resembles a staircase: Clusters are randomly assigned to sequences made up of a limited number of measurement periods (control followed by intervention), in which sequences start measurement at different times. In this talk, Dr. Grantham provides insights into the efficiency and potential benefits of staircase designs to build a deeper understanding of these designs and inform design choice. Dr. Grantham covers when staircase designs are an efficient alternative to the stepped wedge and presents results on how the efficiency of different staircase design variants depends on the trial setting and design configuration, including which variants are most efficient in different settings.