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AHRQ Research Studies
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Research Studies is a compilation of published research articles funded by AHRQ or authored by AHRQ researchers.
Results
51 to 75 of 96 Research Studies DisplayedRichardson DB, Kinlaw AC, Keil AP
Inverse probability weights for the analysis of polytomous outcomes.
In this research letter, the authors proposed an inverse-probability-of-exposure weighted multinomial model for analysis of polytomous outcomes, described its implementation, and illustrated it. In investigators suggest that there are other approaches to handling multinomial model fitting with many parameters (such as shrinkage estimation approaches). However, they indicate that the proposed form of weighting may be attractive to some investigators because it is simpler to implement in many settings than shrinkage estimation.
AHRQ-funded; HS000032.
Citation: Richardson DB, Kinlaw AC, Keil AP .
Inverse probability weights for the analysis of polytomous outcomes.
Am J Epidemiol 2018 May;187(5):1125-27. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwy020..
Keywords: Research Methodologies
Viswanathan M, Patnode CD, Berkman ND
AHRQ Author: Chang S
Recommendations for assessing the risk of bias in systematic reviews of health-care interventions.
Risk-of-bias assessment is a central component of systematic reviews, but little conclusive empirical evidence exists on the validity of such assessments. In the context of such uncertainty, the investigators present pragmatic recommendations that promote transparency and reproducibility in processes, address methodological advances in the risk-of-bias assessment, and can be applied consistently across review topics.
AHRQ-authored; AHRQ-funded; 290201500011I; 290201500001I; 290201500005I; 290201500006I; 290201500013I; 290201500008I; 290201500009I.
Citation: Viswanathan M, Patnode CD, Berkman ND .
Recommendations for assessing the risk of bias in systematic reviews of health-care interventions.
J Clin Epidemiol 2018 May;97:26-34. doi: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2017.12.004..
Keywords: Evidence-Based Practice, Research Methodologies
Mbachu SN, Pieribone VA, Bechtel KA
Optimizing recruitment and retention of adolescents in ED research: findings from concussion biomarker pilot study.
The authors conducted a pilot study to optimize screening, recruitment, and enrollment strategies for a larger, fully-powered study that seeks to identify proteins in the blood of adolescent athletes following a concussion that are significantly and consistently altered compared with age- and gender-matched controls with isolated extremity injuries. They found that EHR-based notifications and financial incentives for participation in ED research on prolonged recovery in adolescents with concussion increased participant identification and enrollment and retention rates to inform and optimize the enrollment and recruitment strategies for a larger study. There was a clear trend for participants to present to the ED on nights or weekends, likely reflecting the time of sport play.
AHRQ-funded; HS021271.
Citation: Mbachu SN, Pieribone VA, Bechtel KA .
Optimizing recruitment and retention of adolescents in ED research: findings from concussion biomarker pilot study.
Am J Emerg Med 2018 May;36(5):884-87. doi: 10.1016/j.ajem.2017.09.014.
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Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Emergency Department, Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Health Services Research (HSR), Research Methodologies
Adam GP, Springs S, Trikalinos T
AHRQ Author: Berliner E
Does information from ClinicalTrials.gov increase transparency and reduce bias? Results from a five-report case series.
The researchers investigated whether information in ClinicalTrials.gov would impact the conclusions of five ongoing systematic reviews. Of the 173 total ClinicalTrials.gov records identified across the five projects, between 11 and 43 percent did not have an associated publication. In the 14 percent of records that contained results, the new data provided in the ClinicalTrials.gov records did not change the results or conclusions of the reviews.
AHRQ-authored; AHRQ-funded; HS022998.
Citation: Adam GP, Springs S, Trikalinos T .
Does information from ClinicalTrials.gov increase transparency and reduce bias? Results from a five-report case series.
Syst Rev 2018 Apr 16;7(1):59. doi: 10.1186/s13643-018-0726-5.
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Keywords: Evidence-Based Practice, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Research Methodologies
Armstrong MJ, Mullins CD, Gronseth GS
Impact of patient involvement on clinical practice guideline development: a parallel group study.
The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of patient and public involvement (PPI) on guideline question formation and validate a conceptual model of patient and public contributions to guidelines. The qualitative analysis of the discussions occurring during guideline question development demonstrated key differences in group conduct and validated the proposed conceptual model of patient and public contributions to guidelines.
AHRQ-funded; HS024159; HS022135.
Citation: Armstrong MJ, Mullins CD, Gronseth GS .
Impact of patient involvement on clinical practice guideline development: a parallel group study.
Implement Sci 2018 Apr 16;13(1):55. doi: 10.1186/s13012-018-0745-6.
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Keywords: Evidence-Based Practice, Guidelines, Patient and Family Engagement, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Research Methodologies
Fanaroff AC, Li S, Webb LE
An observational study of the association of video- versus text-based informed consent with multicenter trial enrollment: lessons from the PALM Study (Patient and Provider Assessment of Lipid Management).
Video informed consent may enhance the appeal of research and help break down barriers to participation. In this observational study of recruitment in a multicenter registry, sites approved for video consent use enrolled the same number of patients as sites with only traditional text-based informed consent but had faster speed to first patient enrolled and more often enrolled older and nonwhite patients.
AHRQ-funded; HS021092.
Citation: Fanaroff AC, Li S, Webb LE .
An observational study of the association of video- versus text-based informed consent with multicenter trial enrollment: lessons from the PALM Study (Patient and Provider Assessment of Lipid Management).
Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes 2018 Apr;11(4):e004675. doi: 10.1161/circoutcomes.118.004675.
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Keywords: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Registries, Research Methodologies
Phillippi JC, Likis FE, Tilden EL
Authorship grids: practical tools to facilitate collaboration and ethical publication.
As interprofessional, team-based scientific publication becomes more common, authors need tools to guide collaboration and ethical authorship. This paper presents three forms of authorship grids that are based on national and international author recommendations. These customizable grids can be used while planning and executing projects to define each author's role, responsibilities, and contributions as well as to guide conversations among authors and help avoid misconduct and disputes.
AHRQ-funded; HS024733.
Citation: Phillippi JC, Likis FE, Tilden EL .
Authorship grids: practical tools to facilitate collaboration and ethical publication.
Res Nurs Health 2018 Apr;41(2):195-208. doi: 10.1002/nur.21856..
Keywords: Health Services Research (HSR), Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Research Methodologies
Dunn AG, Coiera E, Bourgeois FT
Unreported links between trial registrations and published articles were identified using document similarity measures in a cross-sectional analysis of ClinicalTrials.gov.
Trial registries can be used to measure reporting biases and support systematic reviews, but 45% of registrations do not provide a link to the article reporting on the trial. The investigators evaluated the use of document similarity methods to identify unreported links between ClinicalTrials.gov and PubMed. The investigators found that document similarity methods can assist in the identification of unreported links between trial registrations and corresponding articles.
AHRQ-funded; HS024798.
Citation: Dunn AG, Coiera E, Bourgeois FT .
Unreported links between trial registrations and published articles were identified using document similarity measures in a cross-sectional analysis of ClinicalTrials.gov.
J Clin Epidemiol 2018 Mar;95:94-101. doi: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2017.12.007..
Keywords: Research Methodologies, Evidence-Based Practice
Surian D, Dunn AG, Orenstein L
A shared latent space matrix factorisation method for recommending new trial evidence for systematic review updates.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate a new method to partially automate the identification of trial registrations that may be relevant for systematic review updates. After identifying 179 systematic reviews of drug interventions for type 2 diabetes, researchers tested a matrix factorization approach that ranks relevant trial registrations for each review. Text from the trial registrations were also used as features. These two approaches were tested on a holdout set of the newest trials. The authors conclude that this matrix was useful in ranking trial registrations and could be used as part of a semi-automated pipeline.
AHRQ-funded; HS024798.
Citation: Surian D, Dunn AG, Orenstein L .
A shared latent space matrix factorisation method for recommending new trial evidence for systematic review updates.
J Biomed Inform 2018 Mar;79:32-40. doi: 10.1016/j.jbi.2018.01.008..
Keywords: Evidence-Based Practice, Health Services Research (HSR), Research Methodologies
Wilbanks J
Design issues in e-consent.
Informed consent has not been implemented as a relationship, but instead as a single-point transaction that must be completed in order to enroll participants. This paper discusses e-consent and notes that it is an opportunity to: truly inform research participants about clinical protocols; provide a meaningful choice architecture to support a potential participant’s decision making about whether or not to enroll; and serve as the beginning of an ongoing ethical relationship with study participants.
AHRQ-funded; HS022789.
Citation: Wilbanks J .
Design issues in e-consent.
J Law Med Ethics 2018 Mar;46(1):110-18. doi: 10.1177/1073110518766025..
Keywords: Decision Making, Health Information Technology (HIT), Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Research Methodologies
Sun B, Perkins NJ, Cole SR
AHRQ Author: Mitchell EM
Inverse-probability-weighted estimation for monotone and nonmonotone missing data.
The goal of this study was to examine the issue of missing data in epidemiologic research by estimating the association of maternal smoking behavior with spontaneous abortion. Three data sets with induced missing values from the Collaborative Perinatal Project are provided in the article as examples of prototypical epidemiologic studies with missing data. The article also describes a proposed approach to modeling nonmonotone missing-data mechanisms under missingness at random that can be used in constructing the weights in inverse probability weighting complete-case estimation.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Sun B, Perkins NJ, Cole SR .
Inverse-probability-weighted estimation for monotone and nonmonotone missing data.
Am J Epidemiol 2018 Mar;187(3):585-91. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwx350..
Keywords: Data, Health Services Research (HSR), Pregnancy, Research Methodologies
Stocco FG, Evaristo E, Shah NR
Marked exercise-induced T-wave heterogeneity in symptomatic diabetic patients with nonflow-limiting coronary artery stenosis.
The authors investigated whether T-wave heterogeneity (TWH) is elevated during exercise tolerance testing (ETT) in symptomatic diabetic patients with nonflow-limiting coronary artery stenosis compared to control subjects without diabetes. They found that TWH is capable of detecting latent repolarization abnormalities, which are present during ETT in diabetic patients with nonflow-limiting stenosis but not in control subjects. They concluded that the technique developed in this study permits TWH analysis from archived ECGs and thereby enables mining of extensive databases for retrospective studies and hypothesis testing.
AHRQ-funded; HS022998.
Citation: Stocco FG, Evaristo E, Shah NR .
Marked exercise-induced T-wave heterogeneity in symptomatic diabetic patients with nonflow-limiting coronary artery stenosis.
Ann Noninvasive Electrocardiol 2018 Mar;23(2):e12503. doi: 10.1111/anec.12503.
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Keywords: Cardiovascular Conditions, Data, Diabetes, Research Methodologies
Kao LM, Greenhawt MJ, Warren CM
Parental and parent-perceived child interest in clinical trials for food allergen immunotherapy.
This investigation of the motivations and desires of caregivers related to enrolling their child in a clinical trial for food allergen immunotherapy found that the majority of respondents would consider enrolling their child in a trial, irrespective of most patient demographic and disease characteristics. Families earning ≥$100,000/ year reported significantly greater willingness to enroll in a trial.
AHRQ-funded; HS024599.
Citation: Kao LM, Greenhawt MJ, Warren CM .
Parental and parent-perceived child interest in clinical trials for food allergen immunotherapy.
Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 2018 Mar;120(3):331-33.e1. doi: 10.1016/j.anai.2017.12.012.
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Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Evidence-Based Practice, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Research Methodologies
Perkins NJ, Cole SR, Harel O
AHRQ Author: Mitchell EM
Principled approaches to missing data in epidemiologic studies.
This article discusses issues pertaining to missing data in epidemiologic literature, providing details on missing-data mechanisms and nomenclature, and encouraging the conduct of principled analyses through detailed comparison of multiple imputation and inverse probability weighting. Data from the Collaborative Perinatal Project are used to create a masked data-analytical challenge with missing data induced by known mechanisms in order to illustrate the deleterious effects of missing data with naive methods and to demonstrate how principled methods can mitigate these effects. The authors call for greater attention to missing data and for the broad use of principled missing-data methods in epidemiologic research.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Perkins NJ, Cole SR, Harel O .
Principled approaches to missing data in epidemiologic studies.
Am J Epidemiol 2018 Mar;187(3):568-75. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwx348..
Keywords: Health Services Research (HSR), Research Methodologies
Thorlacius L, Garg A, Ingram JR
Towards global consensus on core outcomes for hidradenitis suppurativa research: an update from the HISTORIC consensus meetings I and II.
This article describes the outcome of two in-person consensus meetings to create a core outcomes set (COS) for hidradenitis suppurative (HS) research. Forty-one individuals from 13 countries and 4 continents were included. The list of items discussed had been developed from patient interviews, a systematic literature review and a healthcare professional survey. Nine items were excluded and seven domains were approved which included: disease course, physical signs, HS-specific quality of life, satisfaction, symptoms, pain and global assessments.
AHRQ-funded; HS024585.
Citation: Thorlacius L, Garg A, Ingram JR .
Towards global consensus on core outcomes for hidradenitis suppurativa research: an update from the HISTORIC consensus meetings I and II.
Br J Dermatol 2018 Mar;178(3):715-21. doi: 10.1111/bjd.16093..
Keywords: Evidence-Based Practice, Health Services Research (HSR), Outcomes, Research Methodologies, Skin Conditions
Phillippi J, Lauderdale J
A guide to field notes for qualitative research: context and conversation.
The authors created a guide to creating field notes for qualitative research. They included a description of field note content for an entire example study and two “sketch note” guides. These can be used for research with individual interviews and focus groups.
AHRQ-funded; HS024733.
Citation: Phillippi J, Lauderdale J .
A guide to field notes for qualitative research: context and conversation.
Qual Health Res 2018 Feb;28(3):381-88. doi: 10.1177/1049732317697102..
Keywords: Health Services Research (HSR), Research Methodologies
Thomas KS, Dosa D, Gozalo PL
A methodology to identify a cohort of Medicare beneficiaries residing in large assisted living facilities using administrative data.
The purpose of this study was to develop and test a methodology to identify Medicare beneficiaries residing in assisted living facilities (ALFs). To this end, the investigators compiled a finder file of 9-digit ZIP codes representing large ALFs (25+ beds) by matching Outcome and Assessment Information Set (OASIS) assessments and Medicare Part B Claims to the Medicare enrollment records and addresses of 11,751 ALFs.
AHRQ-funded; HS000011.
Citation: Thomas KS, Dosa D, Gozalo PL .
A methodology to identify a cohort of Medicare beneficiaries residing in large assisted living facilities using administrative data.
Med Care 2018 Feb;56(2):e10-e15. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000000659..
Keywords: Data, Medicare, Research Methodologies
Rockova V
Bayesian estimation of sparse signals with a continuous spike-and-slab prior.
The authors introduced the family of Spike-and-Slab LASSO (SS-LASSO) priors, which form a continuum between the Laplace prior and the point-mass spike-and-slab prior. They established several frequentist properties of SS-LASSO priors, contrasting them with these two limiting cases. They concluded that the SS-LASSO priors, despite being continuous, possess similar optimality properties as the "theoretically ideal" point-mass mixtures.
AHRQ-funded; HS021854.
Citation: Rockova V .
Bayesian estimation of sparse signals with a continuous spike-and-slab prior.
Ann Statist 2018;46(1):401-37. doi: 10.1214/17-AOS1554.
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Keywords: Research Methodologies
Kim SY, Flory J, Relton C
Ethics and practice of Trials within Cohorts: an emerging pragmatic trial design.
This paper discusses a new study design for randomized controlled trails called “Trials within Cohorts". It is already being used in a few countries because it is an efficient way to recruit participants, reduces subject burden, and better mimics “real-world” processes. Another advantage is that it is ethically superior to previous post-randomization designs although there could be some ethical concerns for the experimental versus control arm subjects.
AHRQ-funded; HS023898.
Citation: Kim SY, Flory J, Relton C .
Ethics and practice of Trials within Cohorts: an emerging pragmatic trial design.
Clin Trials 2018 Feb;15(1):9-16. doi: 10.1177/1740774517746620..
Keywords: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Research Methodologies
Kim SY, Flory J, Relton C
Rejoinder.
In this letter, the author responds to Weijer et al. and Wendler, who commented on the author’s article, Ethics and Practice of Trials within Cohorts: an Emerging Pragmatic Trial Design, published in 2018 in Clinical Trials volume 15.
AHRQ-funded; HS023898.
Citation: Kim SY, Flory J, Relton C .
Rejoinder.
Clin Trials 2018 Feb;15(1):27-28. doi: 10.1177/1740774517746629..
Keywords: Communication, Research Methodologies
Heo M, Kim N, Rinke ML
Sample size determinations for stepped-wedge clinical trials from a three-level data hierarchy perspective.
This paper discusses sample size determinations for stepped-wedge clinical trials from a three-level data hierarchy perspective. In this paper, the authors derived a closed-form explicit power function based on a statistical model for three-level continuous outcome data.
AHRQ-funded; HS023608.
Citation: Heo M, Kim N, Rinke ML .
Sample size determinations for stepped-wedge clinical trials from a three-level data hierarchy perspective.
Stat Methods Med Res 2018 Feb;27(2):480-89. doi: 10.1177/0962280216632564..
Keywords: Research Methodologies
Vakharia PP, Chopra R, Silverberg JI
Systematic review of diagnostic criteria used in atopic dermatitis randomized controlled trials.
This study sought to determine the most commonly used atopic dermatitis diagnostic criteria in randomized controlled trials internationally. The results highlighted the lack of uniformity and documentation of atopic dermatitis diagnostic criteria in randomized controlled trials for atopic dermatitis. The investigators recommended harmonizing the diagnostic criteria for atopic dermatitis in future randomized controlled trials.
AHRQ-funded; HS023011.
Citation: Vakharia PP, Chopra R, Silverberg JI .
Systematic review of diagnostic criteria used in atopic dermatitis randomized controlled trials.
Am J Clin Dermatol 2018 Feb;19(1):15-22. doi: 10.1007/s40257-017-0299-4..
Keywords: Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Research Methodologies, Skin Conditions
Woloshin S, Schwartz LM, Bagley PJ
Characteristics of interim publications of randomized clinical trials and comparison with final publications.
The authors describe the characteristics of interim publications from ongoing randomized trials and compare their consistency and prominence with those of final publications. They conclude that interim publication should be limited to protocol prespecified analyses performed when enough outcomes occurred for statistical stability and to scenarios least likely to undermine trial integrity.
AHRQ-funded; HS024075.
Citation: Woloshin S, Schwartz LM, Bagley PJ .
Characteristics of interim publications of randomized clinical trials and comparison with final publications.
JAMA 2018 Jan 23;319(4):404-06. doi: 10.1001/jama.2017.20653.
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Keywords: Data, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Research Methodologies
Yepes-Nunez JJ, Morgan RL, Mbuagbaw L
AHRQ Author: Chang S
Two alternatives versus the standard Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) summary of findings (SoF) tables to improve understanding in the presentation of systematic review results: a three-arm, randomised, controlled,
The primary objective of this trial is to investigate whether an alternative Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) SoF table or Evidence-based Practice Center SoF table is non-inferior to the current GRADE SoF table in the understanding of the information presented to systematic review users. Non-inferiority would be declared if the difference in the proportion of participants who understand the information displayed in the alternative SoF table is 10 percent or less.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Yepes-Nunez JJ, Morgan RL, Mbuagbaw L .
Two alternatives versus the standard Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) summary of findings (SoF) tables to improve understanding in the presentation of systematic review results: a three-arm, randomised, controlled,
BMJ Open 2018 Jan 23;8(1):e015623. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-015623.
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Keywords: Evidence-Based Practice, Guidelines, Research Methodologies
Phillippi JC, Hartmann KE
Differentiating research, quality improvement, and case studies to ethically incorporate pregnant women.
This article discusses the need to involve pregnant women in research, quality improvement, and case studies and how to involve them in an ethical way with high standards to protect participants. This review includes vignettes to distinguish between the different types of studies and emphasizes that perinatal care providers will need to seek institutional review board approval for all research to be conducted.
AHRQ-funded; HS024733.
Citation: Phillippi JC, Hartmann KE .
Differentiating research, quality improvement, and case studies to ethically incorporate pregnant women.
J Midwifery Womens Health 2018 Jan;63(1):104-14. doi: 10.1111/jmwh.12673..
Keywords: Health Services Research (HSR), Healthcare Delivery, Maternal Care, Pregnancy, Quality of Care, Quality Improvement, Research Methodologies, Women