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Cascade diagrams for depicting complex interventions in randomised trials
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-08, 21:10 authored by Richard Hooper, Robert J Froud, Stephen BremnerStephen Bremner, Rafael Perera, Sandra EldridgeClarity about how trial interventions are delivered is important for researchers and those who might want to use their results. A new graphical representation aims to help make complex interventions clearer. Many medical interventions—particularly non-pharmacological ones—are complex, consisting of multiple interacting components targeted at different organisational levels. Published descriptions of complex interventions often do not contain enough detail to enable their replication. Reports of behaviour change interventions should include descriptions of setting, mode, intensity, and duration, and characteristics of the participants. Graphical methods, such as that showing the relative timing of assessments and intervention components, may improve clarity of reporting. However, these approaches do not reveal the connections between the different “actors” in a complex intervention.8 Different audiences may want different things from a description of an intervention, but visualising relationships between actors can clarify crucial features such as the fidelity with which the intervention is passed down a chain of actors and possible routes of contamination between treatment arms. Here we describe a new graphical approach—the cascade diagram—that highlights these potential problems.
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- Published
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- Published version
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BMJISSN
1756-1833Publisher
BMJ Publishing GroupExternal DOI
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347Article number
f6681Department affiliated with
- BSMS Publications
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- Yes
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- Yes
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2015-06-16First Open Access (FOA) Date
2015-06-16First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2015-06-16Usage metrics
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