ipl-logo

The Pros And Cons Of Randomized-Controlled Trials

520 Words3 Pages

With the expansion and development of modern medicine, randomized-controlled trials are becoming more significant to statistics. Medical discovery and advancements over the past decades are leading down the pathway of stronger statistical studies using randomized-controlled trials. This technique was first used by the Medical Research Council in the 1940s to study whooping cough and was the solution to a statistical nightmare. The problem at the time was that if a publisher “wanted to rig the results to prove a treatment worked, he or she could preferentially give the treatment to the patients who were less sick, or give the older treatment to patients who were more sick” (5). Although there are significant limitations to RCTs, the concept of randomizing and controlling trials has several essential advantages that allow studies to pinpoint variables, apply to the real-world, and show stronger results. RCTs …show more content…

“By randomizing, not only do you end up with a balance of sicker and healthier patients in the two groups, you also end up with a balance between things you don’t know about which may also have an impact on the patient’s health and therefore the outcome of the treatment” (6). This helps create stronger results because it is more likely that the results are due to the treatment and nothing else. In order to use RCTs effectively researchers have some evidence the treatment will work, allowing the calculation of an effect size that predicts the difference between the treatment group and the control group. The larger the measurable difference in outcomes, the stronger

Show More
Related
646 Words | 3 Pages

In their paper, they take stance on obtaining results that can be interpreted more rapidly and more efficiently; including the use of a placebo controlled study, even if a known treatment exists. By using a placebo controlled study, there will be less need for more subjects, which would

Read More
198 Words | 1 Pages

Base on the type of service that was provided to the patient and the concept of the establishment of the healthcare practice guidelines, the evidence-based practice that was identified was the level I which is the evidence of randomized controlled trials (RCT). The level I RCTs, which is the meta-analysis level and sometime called the hierarchy of evidence of all relevant, are assigned to studies based on the methodological quality of their design, validity, and applicability to patient care which According to the Medical News Today (2014) stated that the randomized controlled trials in the use of clinical intervention and the procedures are the gold standard of scientific testing and in a research study. The purpose of the RCT it is to support

Read More
1078 Words | 5 Pages

During the trial 1 patient from each treatment group withdrew their consent to participate in the trial. Also 2 patients in each treatment group were lost during the trial and contact could not be re-established with them. Finally 1 patient had to leave the study due to “adverse

Read More
1122 Words | 5 Pages

Fear can cause some patients to feel “ treated as mere "experimental model(s)" for the studies, while others refuse to take part because of historical evidences of clinical trial fraud and misconducts known to them” (Nijhawan 134). Preconceived patient perceptions lead patients to “believe that, trials will put extra burden on them. They assume that the conventional treatment is best and they are afraid of the unknown side-effects of new treatment. Convincing and receiving an informed consent from such patient is most difficult. In some case disclosing too much information of the potential side-effects may unnecessarily scare the patient away from a potentially life-saving or life-enhancing surgery or procedure”(Nijhawan 134).

Read More
840 Words | 4 Pages

This shows how even after a treatment was found, the doctors still refused treatment to most of the patients. In conclusion, the study was unethical and the doctors didn’t care about the health of their

Read More
1493 Words | 6 Pages

Another issue with the evidence-base program is with the randomized control trial (RCT). The used of the randomized control trial is usefulness but not value. According to Tanenbaum (2005), the effectiveness is due to the methods used can be difficult to understand and can have biases associated with the program (p. 165).

Read More
842 Words | 4 Pages

All studies are unique and occur in certain contexts with certain target groups and specific staff members. There are countless other factors that can influence a study, therefore only one study should not be used a justification for a policy. A single study is not generalizable and this is problematic. The same study can be conducted again with a different target group and wind up with dramatically different results. This means studies require several implementations and evaluations before they should be determined as successful and as evidence supporting a policy.

Read More
553 Words | 3 Pages

When implementing evidenced-based practice, there are five major steps to its development: ask, acquire, appraise, apply and assess. Research involves gathering data, comparing, and analyzing it to produce information that is viable to a particular topic being evaluated. Critical appraisal is one of the most important components to evidence-based practice. According to the Center for Evidence-Based Medicine (n.d.), critical appraisal is the process of carefully and thoroughly evaluating research. The reason behind critical appraisal of research is to identify the level of evidence, how well it was conducted and evaluate it for relevance to one’s practice (Fineout-Overholt, Melnyk, Stillwell & Williamson, 2010).

Read More
1116 Words | 5 Pages

Assessing the quality and strength of evidence is crucial, with randomized clinical trials typically considered the gold standard. Various systems

Read More
1698 Words | 7 Pages

Proper sample size was used and the trial duration was long enough to capture the characteristics of

Read More
434 Words | 2 Pages

Since the beginning of the 1990s there has been a drive towards evidence-based medicine which focused on medical decision making. It grew from the work of a group of researchers at McMaster University in Ontario who set out to redefine the

Read More
1861 Words | 8 Pages

Introduction Psychological research and its findings have profound impact on people, relationships, and institutions in our society (Willig, 2013). However, as any other study, psychological researchers are faced with enormous limitations including inappropriate designs or methodologies due inadequacy of professionals (Wang, et al., 2015), geographical differences that impacts on generalizations (Smith, 2015), and time pressure that negatively affects the quality of a research (Punch, et al., 2014). Language barrier and lack of literature or poorly done review are other factors that affect psychological research (Willig, 2013). Limitations Limited number of professionals in the psychological research is one of the key limitations to this field of study. Psychological research depends on observations, experimentation, and evidence, hence the need for critical methodological designs (Shipman, 2014).

Read More
922 Words | 4 Pages

Medical Research has the potential to advance society and make life better for everyone in it. However, the ends cannot justify the means; the rights of the subjects of research cannot be violated no matter the possible benefit to mankind. Despite this, time and time again, it has been very easy for, at least allegedly well-meaning scientists to violate the rights of their research subjects because they wanted to help society as a whole. Such experiments were not performed in secret by a minority of scientists; they were often done “by respected investigators at leading medical institutions and were published in medical journals (Scandals and Tragedies 3). " It is vital that we understand the circumstances of these experiments and why they happened so

Read More
1192 Words | 5 Pages

RCT involves the random allocation of participants between experimental groups, whose members receive the treatment or other intervention, and control group whose members receive a standard or placebo treatment. Also, it is a gold standard in testing the efficacy of an intervention (UCL, 2011). To commence the article assessment is the view of the abstract. The heading and abstract of the study was well outlined, concise and focused on the sample population, methodology, data analysis as well as the result of the study.

Read More
603 Words | 3 Pages

Recently, I have seen an article with a title “More than 190,000 bachelors, masters and doctors are unemployed” from Vietnam’s newspaper. Interviewers from the article claimed that most companies ask for work experiences. As a full-time student, school work already occupied majority of your time, so it is quite a challenge to also go to work. And when you get the degree and find out the company you are applying for preferring work experience would you still think investing in a college degree is worth it? Eventually, most Americans will graduate with college debts.

Read More

More about The Pros And Cons Of Randomized-Controlled Trials

Related Topics

Open Document