Quantitative studies in drug utilization research

Le résumé fourni par la source

Quantitative research can be either observational or experimental.Observational studies are conducted in a "real life" situation without an experimental set-up.Research activities are limited to interpreting data obtained from observations, and the researcher does not actively allocate interventions to specific groups.Experimental studies are designed to evaluate the effect of a planned intervention/experiment.• Observational studies with a descriptive design identify patterns or trends in drug utilization without having any comparison (control) group and measurements of both exposure and outcome.They may be used for comparisons of drug utilization but do not allow for any inferences about causal associations.• Observational studies with an analytical design are designed to reach causal inferences about hypothesized relationships.They aim to gain a deeper understanding of the explanatory factors behind patterns of drug prescribing, dispensing, or consumption or to study the positive and negative consequences of the treatment.• For experimental or interventional studies, the gold standard is the randomized controlled trial, but there are also quasi-experimental designs (uncontrolled or controlled before-and-after studies and interrupted time series) to evaluate the effect of interventions under natural conditions.• Quantitative studies need statistical methods to organize, present, analyze, and interpret the collected numerical data.Statistics are necessary for interpreting results from samples and extrapolating them to a whole population.Statistics are also recommended to evaluate relationships and differences between groups and between different periods.It is, however, important to acknowledge that study results may be statistically significant but still have a limited value from a clinical-or policy perspective.

Ce résumé expose les affirmations des auteurs. BNTIC ne l’interprète pas comme une validation indépendante des résultats.