Essential Concepts for Reducing Bias in Observational Studies.
Hosp Pediatr
; 13(8): e234-e239, 2023 08 01.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-37416975
ABSTRACT
Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are the gold standard study design for clinical research, as prospective randomization, at least in theory, balances any differences that can exist between groups (including any differences not measured as part of the study) and isolates the studied treatment effect. Any remaining imbalances after randomization are attributable to chance. However, there are many barriers to conducting RCTs within pediatric populations, including lower disease prevalence, high costs, inadequate funding, and additional regulatory requirements. Researchers thus frequently use observational study designs to address many research questions. Observational studies, whether prospective or retrospective, do not involve randomization and thus have more potential for bias when compared with RCTs because of imbalances that can exist between comparison groups. If these imbalances are associated with both the exposure of interest and the outcome, then failure to account for these imbalances may result in a biased conclusion. Understanding and addressing differences in sociodemographic and/or clinical characteristics within observational studies are thus necessary to reduce bias. Within this Method/ology submission we describe techniques to minimize bias by controlling for important measurable covariates within observational studies and discuss the challenges and opportunities in addressing specific variables.
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Projetos de Pesquisa
Tipo de estudo:
Clinical_trials
/
Observational_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Child
/
Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Hosp Pediatr
Ano de publicação:
2023
Tipo de documento:
Article