Book chapter
Designing comparison and control groups
Handbook of Intervention Science: From Design to Implementation, pp 311-335
01 Jan 2025
Abstract
Control groups are an essential component of behavioral intervention trials. Control groups serve to reduce the impact of confounding factors (e.g., age, gender) and biases (e.g., measurement bias) that may influence trial outcomes. To clearly demonstrate whether an intervention treatment has an impact (or not) on the trial outcomes, a comparison is necessary. Control groups serve that purpose. There are a variety of types of control groups (e.g., attention control, waitlist control, usual or standard care, or another treatment) and important factors to consider when designing and selecting control groups. In this chapter, we describe the various types of control groups, highlight challenges and potential pitfalls in their design, and provide guidance on how to address these challenges.
Metrics
1 Record Views
Details
- Title
- Designing comparison and control groups
- Creators
- Laura N. Gitlin - Drexel University, College of Nursing and Health Professions, United StatesSara J. Czaja - Weill Cornell Medicine
- Publication Details
- Handbook of Intervention Science: From Design to Implementation, pp 311-335
- Resource Type
- Book chapter
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- College of Nursing and Health Professions
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-105026930890
- Other Identifier
- 991022197298904721