BACKGROUND: Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are the most important method of evaluating new treatments and treatment policies. Despite this, there are relatively few large pragmatic RCTs in psychiatry. AIMS: To explore the main advantages of large pragmatic RCTs and the obstacles to performing them in psychiatry. METHOD: A narrative review of literature on pragmatic RCTs with examples drawn from psychiatry and other medical specialities. RESULTS: Obstacles to performing pragmatic RCTs in psychiatry include the complexity of psychiatric interventions, the complexity of outcomes used in psychiatry and the difficulties of blinding subjects and investigators to some psychiatric interventions. CONCLUSIONS: Researchers need to frame questions in a form that is relevant to clinicians and to convince clinicians to cooperate in simple large pragmatic trials.
BACKGROUND: Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are the most important method of evaluating new treatments and treatment policies. Despite this, there are relatively few large pragmatic RCTs in psychiatry. AIMS: To explore the main advantages of large pragmatic RCTs and the obstacles to performing them in psychiatry. METHOD: A narrative review of literature on pragmatic RCTs with examples drawn from psychiatry and other medical specialities. RESULTS: Obstacles to performing pragmatic RCTs in psychiatry include the complexity of psychiatric interventions, the complexity of outcomes used in psychiatry and the difficulties of blinding subjects and investigators to some psychiatric interventions. CONCLUSIONS: Researchers need to frame questions in a form that is relevant to clinicians and to convince clinicians to cooperate in simple large pragmatic trials.
Authors: Vinod H Srihari; Nicholas J K Breitborde; Jessica Pollard; Cenk Tek; Leslie Hyman; Linda K Frisman; Thomas H McGlashan; Selby Jacobs; Scott W Woods Journal: Psychiatr Serv Date: 2009-11 Impact factor: 3.084
Authors: Vinod H Srihari; Cenk Tek; Suat Kucukgoncu; Vivek H Phutane; Nicholas J K Breitborde; Jessica Pollard; Banu Ozkan; John Saksa; Barbara C Walsh; Scott W Woods Journal: Psychiatr Serv Date: 2015-02-02 Impact factor: 3.084
Authors: Daniel Fulford; Jasmine Mote; David E Gard; Kim T Mueser; Kathryn Gill; Lawrence Leung; Kara Dillaway Journal: J Behav Cogn Ther Date: 2020-07-17