scholarly journals Assessing Change in Intervention Research: The Benefits of Composite Outcomes

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 251524592093193
Author(s):  
David Moreau ◽  
Kristina Wiebels

Intervention research is often time- and resource-intensive, with numerous participants involved over extended periods of time. To maximize the value of intervention studies, multiple outcome measures are often included, either to ensure a diverse set of outcomes is being assessed or to refine assessments of specific outcomes. Here, we advocate for combining assessments, rather than relying on individual measures assessed separately, to better evaluate the effectiveness of interventions. Specifically, we argue that by pooling information from individual measures into a single outcome, composite scores can provide finer estimates of the underlying theoretical construct of interest while retaining important properties more sophisticated methods often forgo, such as transparency and interpretability. We describe different methods to compute, evaluate, and use composites depending on the goals, design, and data. To promote usability, we also provide a preregistration template that includes examples in the context of psychological interventions with supporting R code. Finally, we make a number of recommendations to help ensure that intervention studies are designed in a way that maximizes discoveries. A Shiny app and detailed R code accompany this article and are available at https://osf.io/u96em/ .

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Moreau ◽  
Kristina Wiebels

Intervention research is often time- and resource-intensive, with numerous participants involved over extended periods of time. In order to maximize the value of intervention studies, multiple outcome measures are often included, either to ensure a diverse set of outcomes is being assessed or to refine assessments of specific outcomes. Here, we advocate for combining assessments, rather than relying on individual measures assessed separately, to better evaluate the effectiveness of interventions. Specifically, we argue that by pooling information from individual measures into a single outcome, composite scores can provide finer estimates of the underlying theoretical construct of interest, while retaining important properties more sophisticated methods often forego, such as transparency and interpretability. We describe different methods to compute, evaluate, and use composites, depending on the goals, design, and data. To promote usability, we also provide a preregistration template that includes examples in the context of psychological interventions, with supporting R code. Finally, we make a number of recommendations to help ensure that intervention studies are designed in a way that maximizes discoveries. A Shiny app and detailed R code accompany this paper, and are available at: https://osf.io/u96em/.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. e0183955 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Fischer ◽  
Hester Lingsma ◽  
Niek Klazinga ◽  
Richard Hardwick ◽  
David Cromwell ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Weidong Li ◽  
Lian Ma ◽  
Ping Xiang ◽  
Yan Tang

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to review and evaluate the quality of fidelity of implementation (FOI) reported in experimental research in physical education pedagogy published in the Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport and the Journal of Teaching in Physical Education using a five-component conceptual framework. Methods: Thirty-five intervention studies were coded using a five-item FOI checklist with indicators. For each of the five items, frequencies and percentages were calculated. Results: Authors of intervention studies reported components of FOI including (a) 35 studies assessing program adherence, (b) eight studies assessing dosage/program durations, (c) 30 studies assessing program delivery quality, (d) eight studies assessing participant responses to program interventions, and (e) 19 studies assessing program differentiation. The most frequently reported FOI components were program adherence, program delivery quality, and program differentiation. Conclusions: Researchers have begun to realize the critical importance of FOI in intervention research. Most researchers selected certain FOI components to assess and report at their own discretion. Researchers may need to pay more attention to FOI. The five-component conceptual framework is one method for doing this assessment.


2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Felix A Achana ◽  
Nicola J Cooper ◽  
Sylwia Bujkiewicz ◽  
Stephanie J Hubbard ◽  
Denise Kendrick ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Alberto Cauli

In order to define and validate standardized outcome measurement tools both for therapeutic trials and for real life clinics, the need to precisely identify the relevant domains of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis has led to the ‘rassemblement’ of experts and patients in the Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA). The output of intensive work, performed according to the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) scientific method, has been the definition of the key domains and instruments relevant in PsA evaluation. This chapter summarizes the present approach in PsA assessment, focusing on the ‘pathophysiological manifestations’, as well as current ideas regarding future revisions. Patient-related outcome measures and composite scores will be detailed in other chapters.


Infancy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 420-437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa LoBue ◽  
Lori B. Reider ◽  
Emily Kim ◽  
Jessica L. Burris ◽  
Denise S. Oleas ◽  
...  

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. e044134
Author(s):  
Jasmine Jean Hooper ◽  
Lisa Saulsman ◽  
Tammy Hall ◽  
Flavie Waters

ObjectivesProtecting healthcare workers from psychological harm is an urgent clinical issue within the current COVID-19 pandemic. Research on early psychological programmes that aim to prevent or reduce mental health symptoms and that have been tested in frontline responders may assist service providers with choosing a suitable intervention for rapid dissemination in healthcare settings.Design and outcome measuresFirst, Embase, Web of Science, PsycINFO and Google Scholar were searched through a systematic literature review of early psychological interventions administered to frontline responders in the last 15 years. Interventions were included if they were designed to prevent or reduce psychological impact and had outcome measures of psychological distress (eg, general psychopathology, post-traumatic stress disorder and stress) and/or positive mental health domains (eg, resilience, self-efficacy and life satisfaction). Second, the suitability of these programmes for the healthcare workforce was evaluated according to the criteria of effectiveness, content applicability and feasibility.ResultsOf 320 articles retrieved, 12 relevant studies were included that described six early psychological interventions. Although the evidence base is limited, psychological first aid, eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing, and trauma risk management showed effectiveness across at least two studies each with frontline workers. Resilience and coping for the healthcare community; anticipate, plan, and deter; and resilience at work programmes found promising results in single studies. Concerning other suitability criteria, all programmes appear applicable to healthcare settings and have acceptable feasibility for rapid implementation.ConclusionsDespite the limited evidence, several interventions were identified as potentially suitable and useful for improving psychological functioning of healthcare workers across a variety of disaster situations. Service providers should continue to implement and evaluate early psychological interventions in frontline workers in order to refine best practices for managing the psychological impact of future disasters.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document