Randomised trials at the level of the individual.

Lancet Glob Health

Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada; School of Public Health, University of Rwanda, Kigali, Rwanda; Cytel, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Electronic address:

Published: May 2021

AI Article Synopsis

  • Many global health research studies rely on short-term, fixed design clinical trials, which restrict major changes during the study.
  • The paper explores adaptive trial designs and master protocols that aim to improve the efficiency and coherence of clinical trial efforts in global health.
  • It highlights the need for careful planning with statistical simulations and addresses the complexities and funding challenges associated with implementing these innovative trial designs.

Article Abstract

In global health research, short-term, small-scale clinical trials with fixed, two-arm trial designs that generally do not allow for major changes throughout the trial are the most common study design. Building on the introductory paper of this Series, this paper discusses data-driven approaches to clinical trial research across several adaptive trial designs, as well as the master protocol framework that can help to harmonise clinical trial research efforts in global health research. We provide a general framework for more efficient trial research, and we discuss the importance of considering different study designs in the planning stage with statistical simulations. We conclude this second Series paper by discussing the methodological and operational complexity of adaptive trial designs and master protocols and the current funding challenges that could limit uptake of these approaches in global health research.

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Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(20)30540-4DOI Listing

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