Developing a Protocol for Observational Comparative Effectiveness Research: A User's Guide

Developing a Protocol for Observational Comparative Effectiveness Research: A User's Guide
Author: Agency for Health Care Research and Quality (U.S.)
Publisher: Government Printing Office
Total Pages: 236
Release: 2013-02-21
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 1587634236

This User’s Guide is a resource for investigators and stakeholders who develop and review observational comparative effectiveness research protocols. It explains how to (1) identify key considerations and best practices for research design; (2) build a protocol based on these standards and best practices; and (3) judge the adequacy and completeness of a protocol. Eleven chapters cover all aspects of research design, including: developing study objectives, defining and refining study questions, addressing the heterogeneity of treatment effect, characterizing exposure, selecting a comparator, defining and measuring outcomes, and identifying optimal data sources. Checklists of guidance and key considerations for protocols are provided at the end of each chapter. The User’s Guide was created by researchers affiliated with AHRQ’s Effective Health Care Program, particularly those who participated in AHRQ’s DEcIDE (Developing Evidence to Inform Decisions About Effectiveness) program. Chapters were subject to multiple internal and external independent reviews. More more information, please consult the Agency website: www.effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov)

Impact Evaluation

Impact Evaluation
Author: Markus Fröhlich
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 431
Release: 2019-03-21
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1107042461

Encompasses the main concepts and approaches of quantitative impact evaluations, used to consider the effectiveness of programmes, policies, projects or interventions. This textbook for economics graduate courses can also serve as a manual for professionals in research institutes, governments, and international organizations.

Broadening the Base of Treatment for Alcohol Problems

Broadening the Base of Treatment for Alcohol Problems
Author: Institute of Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 640
Release: 1990-02-01
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0309040388

In this congressionally mandated study, an expert committee of the Institute of Medicine takes a close look at where treatment for people with alcohol problems seems to be headed, and provides its best advice on how to get there. Careful consideration is given to how the creative growth of treatment can best be encouraged while keeping costs within reasonable limits. Particular attention is devoted to the importance of developing therapeutic approaches that are sensitive to the special needs of the many diverse groups represented among those who have developed problems related to their use of "man's oldest friend and oldest enemy." This book is the most comprehensive examination of alcohol treatment to date.

Computer-Aided Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

Computer-Aided Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Author: Jan Egger
Publisher: Academic Press
Total Pages: 284
Release: 2021-04-29
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 0128234237

Computer-Aided Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery: Developments, Applications, and Future Perspectives is an ideal resource for biomedical engineers and computer scientists, clinicians and clinical researchers looking for an understanding on the latest technologies applied to oral and maxillofacial surgery. In facial surgery, computer-aided decisions supplement all kind of treatment stages, from a diagnosis to follow-up examinations. This book gives an in-depth overview of state-of-the-art technologies, such as deep learning, augmented reality, virtual reality and intraoperative navigation, as applied to oral and maxillofacial surgery. It covers applications of facial surgery that are at the interface between medicine and computer science. Examples include the automatic segmentation and registration of anatomical and pathological structures, like tumors in the facial area, intraoperative navigation in facial surgery and its recent developments and challenges for treatments like zygomatic implant placement. - Provides comprehensive, state-of-the-art knowledge of interdisciplinary applications in facial surgery - Presents recent algorithmic developments like Deep Learning, along with recent devices in augmented reality and virtual reality - Includes clinical knowledge of two facials surgeons who give insights into the current clinical practice and challenges of facial surgeons in university hospitals in Austria and China

Field Trials of Health Interventions

Field Trials of Health Interventions
Author: Peter G. Smith
Publisher:
Total Pages: 479
Release: 2015
Genre: Health & Fitness
ISBN: 0198732864

This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC 4.0 International licence. It is free to read at Oxford Scholarship Online and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations. Before new interventions are released into disease control programmes, it is essential that they are carefully evaluated in field trials'. These may be complex and expensive undertakings, requiring the follow-up of hundreds, or thousands, of individuals, often for long periods. Descriptions of the detailed procedures and methods used in the trials that have been conducted have rarely been published. A consequence of this, individuals planning such trials have few guidelines available and little access to knowledge accumulated previously, other than their own. In this manual, practical issues in trial design and conduct are discussed fully and in sufficient detail, that Field Trials of Health Interventions may be used as a toolbox' by field investigators. It has been compiled by an international group of over 30 authors with direct experience in the design, conduct, and analysis of field trials in low and middle income countries and is based on their accumulated knowledge and experience. Available as an open access book via Oxford Medicine Online, this new edition is a comprehensive revision, incorporating the new developments that have taken place in recent years with respect to trials, including seven new chapters on subjects ranging from trial governance, and preliminary studies to pilot testing.

The Prevention and Treatment of Missing Data in Clinical Trials

The Prevention and Treatment of Missing Data in Clinical Trials
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 163
Release: 2010-12-21
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 030918651X

Randomized clinical trials are the primary tool for evaluating new medical interventions. Randomization provides for a fair comparison between treatment and control groups, balancing out, on average, distributions of known and unknown factors among the participants. Unfortunately, these studies often lack a substantial percentage of data. This missing data reduces the benefit provided by the randomization and introduces potential biases in the comparison of the treatment groups. Missing data can arise for a variety of reasons, including the inability or unwillingness of participants to meet appointments for evaluation. And in some studies, some or all of data collection ceases when participants discontinue study treatment. Existing guidelines for the design and conduct of clinical trials, and the analysis of the resulting data, provide only limited advice on how to handle missing data. Thus, approaches to the analysis of data with an appreciable amount of missing values tend to be ad hoc and variable. The Prevention and Treatment of Missing Data in Clinical Trials concludes that a more principled approach to design and analysis in the presence of missing data is both needed and possible. Such an approach needs to focus on two critical elements: (1) careful design and conduct to limit the amount and impact of missing data and (2) analysis that makes full use of information on all randomized participants and is based on careful attention to the assumptions about the nature of the missing data underlying estimates of treatment effects. In addition to the highest priority recommendations, the book offers more detailed recommendations on the conduct of clinical trials and techniques for analysis of trial data.

Outcome Assessment in Residential Treatment

Outcome Assessment in Residential Treatment
Author: Steven I. Pfeiffer
Publisher: Psychology Press
Total Pages: 122
Release: 1996
Genre: Child psychology
ISBN: 9781560248392

As residential treatment centers and psychiatric hospitals are increasingly asked to document their effectiveness, it is essential for mental health care providers to demonstrate the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of the services they provide. Outcome Assessment in Residential Treatment helps health care providers demonstrate that their planned treatment is necessary and active rather than simply custodial. A practitioner's guide to conducting treatment outcome assessment projects, this innovative book presents readers with historical perspectives, current issues, and practical suggestions for implementing an outcome assessment project. Outcome Assessment in Residential Treatment guides psychiatrists, psychologists, mental health practitioners, and social program administrators in addressing which therapeutic components contribute to the goals and objectives of their programs and which may require modification, radical revision, or even elimination. It helps residential treatment centers and psychiatric treatment facilities document treatment successes and better understand which factors (within the client, family, environment, treatment setting, or combinations therein) predict successful outcome. This objective data empowers readers to influence government and industry, enhance public awareness of the needs of severely disturbed children and youth, and validate the usefulness of intensive psychiatric treatment. Unlike other books on treatment outcome, Outcome Assessment in Residential Treatment tells readers how to determine clinically significant improvement and not simply statistically significant change. It gives practical, detailed, proven advice on how to carry out studies that will benefit residential treatment centers and the psychiatric and mental health fields. Contributors provide tools to validate/demonstrate that psychiatric and mental health treatments are effective. They offer insight into: planning a treatment outcome project recognizing ethical, practical, methodological, logistical, and clinical considerations in implementing a treatment outcome project selecting instruments to assess treatment outcome and measuring success comparing different outcome measures Health care providers must have accurate information about treatment outcomes to demonstrate that specific services are beneficial, cost-effective, and well-received by the client. Outcome Assessment in Residential Treatment helps readers evaluate the impact a treatment program has on a client's clinical status and psychosocial and educational functioning, making it possible to provide an objective yardstick for the payer's evaluation of the quality of care provided. Psychiatrists, psychologists, mental health practitioners, and social program administrators will find Outcome Assessment in Residential Treatment an essential guide to evaluating and understanding the relative effects of specific interventions or procedures on the quality and effectiveness of their services. They will use this information to make appropriate changes which guarantee that they best meet their clients'mental health care needs.

Mental Health Screening and Assessment in Juvenile Justice

Mental Health Screening and Assessment in Juvenile Justice
Author: Thomas Grisso
Publisher: Guilford Press
Total Pages: 424
Release: 2005-02-24
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 9781593851323

It is well known that many children and adolescents entering the juvenile justice system suffer from serious mental disorders. Yet until now, few resources have been available to help mental health and juvenile justice professionals accurately identify the mental health needs of the youths in their care. Filling a crucial gap, this volume offers a practical primer on screening and assessment together with in-depth reviews of over 20 widely used instruments. Comprehensive and timely, it brings together leading experts to provide authoritative guidance in this challenging area of clinical practice. Grounded in extensive research and real world practical experience, this is an indispensable reference for clinical and forensic psychologists, social workers, and psychiatrists, as well as juvenile justice administrators and others who work with youths in the justice system. An informative resource for students, it is an ideal supplemental text for graduate-level courses.

Advancing Validity in Outcome Evaluation: Theory and Practice

Advancing Validity in Outcome Evaluation: Theory and Practice
Author: Huey T. Chen
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 138
Release: 2011-07-13
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1118159179

Exploring the influence and application of Campbellian validity typology in the theory and practice of outcome evaluation, this volume addresses the strengths and weaknesses of this often controversial evaluation method and presents new perspectives for its use. Editors Huey T. Chen, Stewart I. Donaldson and Melvin M. Mark provide a historical overview of the Campbellian typology adoption, contributions and criticism. Contributing authors propose strategies in developing a new perspective of validity typology for advancing validity in program evaluation including Enhance External Validity Enhance Precision by Reclassifying the Campbellian Typology Expand the Scope of the Typology The volume concludes with William R. Shadish's spirited rebuttal to earlier chapters. A collaborator with Don Campbell, Shadish provides a balance to the perspective of the issue with a clarification and defense of Campbell's work. This is the 129th volume of the Jossey-Bass quarterly report series New Directions for Evaluation, an official publication of the American Evaluation Association.