Using Ecometric Data to Explore Sources of Cross-Site Impact Variance in Multi-Site Trials.

In 2003, Bloom, Hill, and Riccio (BHR) published an influential paper introducing novel methods for explaining the variation in local impacts observed in multi-site randomized control trials of socio-economic interventions in terms of site-level mediators. This paper seeks to improve upon this previous work by using student-level data to measure site-level mediators and confounders. Development of asymptotic behavior backed up with simulations and an empirical example.

Robustness of ordinary least squares in randomized clinical trials.

There has been a series of occasional papers in this journal about semiparametric methods for robust covariate control in the analysis of clinical trials. These methods are fairly easy to apply on currently available computers, but standard software packages do not yet support these methods with easy option selections. Moreover, these methods can be difficult to explain to practitioners who have only a basic statistical education.

The Influence of the VERB campaign on children's physical activity in 2002 to 2006.

Objectives: We evaluated physical activity outcomes for children exposed to VERB, a campaign to encourage physical activity in children, across campaign years 2002 to 2006.

Methods: We examined the associations between exposure to VERB and (1) physical activity sessions (free time and organized) and (2) psychosocial outcomes (outcome expectations, self-efficacy, and social influences) for 3 nationally representative cohorts of children. Outcomes among adolescents aged 13 to 17 years (cohort 1, baseline) and children aged 9 to 13 years from cohorts 2 and 3 were analyzed for dose-response effects.

Methodology of the outcome evaluation of the VERB campaign.

This article summarizes the methods used in the outcome evaluation of the VERB campaign. The outcome evaluation was designed to measure the awareness and understanding of VERB among the target audience of children aged 9-13 years (tweens) and to determine the effect of VERB awareness on psychosocial and behavioral outcomes. Cohorts of tweens and parents were interviewed annually via a telephone survey (Youth Media Campaign Longitudinal Survey).

Evaluation of a national physical activity intervention for children: VERB campaign, 2002-2004.

Background: Amid concern for the consequences of physical inactivity among children, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention started a campaign using commercial marketing methods to promote physical activity to children.

Design: Longitudinal study using a telephone survey to assess physical activity behaviors and attitudes at baseline and for 2 years of follow-up. Relationships of campaign awareness to behavioral and psychosocial effects were analyzed with use of propensity scoring.

Variable selection and raking in propensity scoring.

This paper discusses some practical issues in applying propensity scoring in the context of endpoint analysis in a pre-/posttest longitudinal design with an ordinal measure of treatment intensity and a high-dimensional potential covariate space: how many covariates to include in propensity models; how to evaluate the adequacy of tentative propensity models; and how to tailor models to provide hypercontrol on a limited subset of covariates. These issues arose in the evaluation of a health communication program.