Confidence intervals: a useful statistical tool to estimate effect sizes in the real world

Abstract There is a need to understand how patients are managed in the real world to better understand disease burden and unmet need. Traditional approaches to gather these data include the use of electronic medical record (EMR) or claims databases; however, in many cases data access policies prevent rapid insight gathering. Social media may provide a potential source of real-world data to assess treatment patterns, but the limitations and biases of doing so have not yet been evaluated. Here, we assessed whether patient treatment patterns extracted from publicly available patient forums compare to results from more traditional EMR and claims databases. We observed that the 95% confidence intervals of proportions of treatments received at first, second, and third line for advanced/metastatic melanoma generated from unstructured social media data overlapped with 95% confidence intervals from proportions obtained from 1 or more traditional EMR/Claims databases. Social media may offer a valid data option to understand treatment patterns in the real world.

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Evaluation of interventions in the real world

10.1093/med/9780199680467.003.0016 ◽

2015 ◽

Author(s):

Mary J. De Silva ◽

Alex Cohen ◽

Vikram Patel

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Case Studies ◽

Real World ◽

Global Mental Health ◽

Effect Sizes ◽

Multiple Methods ◽

The Real ◽

Health Programmes ◽

Key Questions

The goal of global mental health trials is to generate knowledge that can be implemented in the much messier ‘real world’. However, the effect of interventions in the real world may be different from, and most likely much smaller than, the effect sizes reported in trials. It is therefore essential that we evaluate their implementation and effect when they are ‘scaled-up’ as real programmes. The evaluation of scaled-up health programmes typically involves the use of multiple methods which are triangulated to address the key questions of the programme leaders or investigators. This chapter aims to describe what outcomes we might be interested in evaluating and the methods we might use to assess these outcomes, and presents selected case studies which demonstrate these methods in action.

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To adjust or not adjust: Nonparametric effect sizes, confidence intervals, and real-world meaning

Psychology of Sport and Exercise ◽

10.1016/j.psychsport.2012.07.007 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

pp. 97-102 ◽

Cited By ~ 53

Author(s):

Andreas Ivarsson ◽

Mark B. Andersen ◽

Urban Johnson ◽

Magnus Lindwall

Keyword(s):

Confidence Intervals ◽

Real World ◽

Effect Sizes

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Evaluating Mental Health Services; How Do Programs for Children “Work” in the Real World? Edited by Carol T. Nixon & Denine A. Northrup. Sage, Thousand Oaks CA, 1997. pp. 306. £16.60 (pb).

Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry ◽

10.1017/s0021963098222918 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 39 (6) ◽

pp. 935-936

Author(s):

Anne Worrall-Davies

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Health Services ◽

Health Services ◽

Real World ◽

The Real

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Current Issues: Evidence-Based Practice for the Real World: Thoughts on Clinical Education in Communication Disorders

Perspectives on Administration and Supervision ◽

10.1044/aas20.3.100 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 20 (3) ◽

pp. 100-105 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Anne K. Bothe

Keyword(s):

Clinical Education ◽

Real World ◽

Evidence Based Practice ◽

Communication Disorders ◽

University Faculty ◽

Evidence Based ◽

Speech Language Pathology ◽

Basic Principles ◽

The Real ◽

Language Pathology

This article presents some streamlined and intentionally oversimplified ideas about educating future communication disorders professionals to use some of the most basic principles of evidence-based practice. Working from a popular five-step approach, modifications are suggested that may make the ideas more accessible, and therefore more useful, for university faculty, other supervisors, and future professionals in speech-language pathology, audiology, and related fields.

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