lecture 6: RCT Flashcards
what are the types study designs under experimental studies th
RCT
cross over
quasi-experimental
single-subject
true or false:Rct is the ideal design for evaluating both efficacy and effectiveness of a treatment
truewh
what is the major advantage of RCT over observational
ability to demonstrate causality
where do RCT rank in the levels of evidence
1a) systematic review of RCTS
1B) individual RCT with narrow confidence intevential
2b) low quality act with loss to follow up
what would make an RCT level 1b
narrow confidence interval (not much variability in results), not a lot of loss to follow up
what are some reasons you would have a low quality RCT
wide CI
loss to follow uo
randomization issues
true or false: RCTS are retrospective and experimental
false, they are prospective and experimental
what does it mean that an RCT is a prospective and experimental study
starts at a point in time and progresses foreard
the intevention/IV is controlled by the investigator
true or false: RCTS are usually comparative studies
true
the comparison group[ is an RCT is aka
control group
what is the basic design model of an RCT
CONSORT diagram
explain the consort diagram
Start with population of interest and use an eligibility criteria to establish who is eligible/non elig (excluded).
The eligible people will be contacted to engage in the study (recruitment) and a part of them will decline to participate (not part of the study even tho they are eligible). The sample of the study will only include those who agred to participate and signed the informed consent.
Then we have the randomization (most important feature of the RCT because it controls for potential counfounders) into eather the intervention or the control group/usual standard of care/no intervention (all depends on the ethics).
Groups are followed over time to see if there is any difference between the groups (look to see if there is a mean difference in the effect on that particular outcome of interest)
why may RCTs be difficult in terms of ethics
RCTS can be challenging for ethical aspects (hard to convince people to be part of a control etc) that is why many of the studies are quasiexpreimental
what is a quasi experimental study
in a quasi-experimental study, the researcher still manipulates an independent variable but does not have full control over some aspects of the study such as no randomization, sometimes no control group (only intervention)
where does RCT fit in the research cycle
they establish efficacy. effectiveness and efficiency
where does cohort fit in the research cycle
mecs and associations
where does case control fit in the research cycle
mec and assocaiton
where does cross-sectional fit in the research cycle
burden of disease
what is the def of efficacy
refers to the ability of an intervention to produce a desirable effect under ideal/controlled conditions
what is the def of effectiveness
refers to the ability of an intervention to produce a desirable effect in the real world setting/clinical practice
what is a a reason that you might have 100% efficacy in the lab but only 50% effectiveness in the health setting
because in the real world you have many factors that influence outcomes effect such as access to care, how many people to deliver the care, instrucments etc)
efficiency is done with ideal circumstances, perfect compliance, adherence to protocols, and use per protocol analysis, this differs from effectiveness trials that have real world circumstances, compliance is self determined and protocol violations may occur
true or false: if a study has 100% efficacy and 100% effectiveness, that means we will automatically implement it as a treatment and explain
false, it is not just about having the presence of an effect but also about the efficiency and resources. For a study to be implemented it must also have optimal use of ressoruecs such as (time, money, feasibility etc)
what are the 5 main features of an efficacy trial
ideal circumcanstances
perfect subject compliance
no protocol violation
endpoints on all data
per protocol analysis
what are the 5 main features of an effectiveness trial
real world circumcanstances
compliance self -determiend
protocol violations may occur
missing data
intention to treat analysis missing data inputed
what does it mean for an efficacy trial to have ideal circumstances
This refers to conducting the trial under optimal conditions that maximize the likelihood of observing the effects of the intervention being tested (standardized measures, controlled environments and controlled confounding variables)
what does it mean for an efficacy trial to have perfect subject compliance and no protocol violation
Subject compliance refers to the extent to which participants adhere to the study protocol, including following instructions, taking medications as prescribed, attending follow-up appointments, etc. In an efficacy trial with perfect subject compliance, every participant would strictly adhere to the protocol without deviation
what is a per-protocol analysis in efficacy trials
Per protocol analysis involves analyzing only the data from participants who strictly adhered to the study protocol, excluding those who deviated or dropped out.