Methods in Comparative Effectiveness Research

Comparative effectiveness research (CER) is the generation and synthesis of evidence that compares the benefits and harms of alternative methods to prevent, diagnose, treat, and monitor a clinical condition or to improve the delivery of care (IOM 2009). CER is conducted to develop evidence that will aid patients, clinicians, purchasers, and health policy makers in making informed decisions at both the individual and population levels. CER encompasses a very broad range of types of studies―experimental, observational, prospective, retrospective, and research synthesis.

This volume covers the main areas of quantitative methodology for the design and analysis of CER studies. The volume has four major sections―causal inference; clinical trials; research synthesis; and specialized topics. The audience includes CER methodologists, quantitative-trained researchers interested in CER, and graduate students in statistics, epidemiology, and health services and outcomes research. The book assumes a masters-level course in regression analysis and familiarity with clinical research.

Constantine Gatsonis is Henry Ledyard Goddard University Professor, Chair of the Department of Biostatistics, and founding Director of the Center for Statistical Sciences at the Brown University School of Public Health. Dr. Gatsonis is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association (ASA) and received a Long-Term Excellence Award from the Health Policy Statistics Section of ASA.

Sally C. Morton is Dean of the College of Science at Virginia Tech. Previously, she was Professor and Chair of the Department of Biostatistics in the Graduate School of Public Health, and Director of the Comparative Effectiveness Research Center in the Health Policy Institute, at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Morton is a Fellow and past president of the ASA and received the association's Founders Award.