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Comparing Alternative Design Options For Chronic Disease Prevention Interventions, Mohammad Golfam, Reed Beall, Jamie Brehaut, Sara Saeed, Clare Relton, Fred D. Ashbury, Julian Little

Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute

Background While the randomized clinical trial is considered to provide the highest level of evidence in clinical medicine, its superiority to other study designs in the context of prevention studies is debated. The purpose of this review was (i) to gather evidence about challenges facing both randomized controlled trials and observational designs for the conduct of population-based chronic disease prevention interventions and (ii) to consider the suitability of recently proposed hybrid designs for population-based prevention intervention studies. Methods Rapid review methods were employed for this study. Articles published within 2007-2012, were included if they: (i) discussed challenges or benefits related …