Title
Comparative Effectiveness Research: A Statistician's Perspective
Speaker
Sally Morton, University of Pittsburgh
Abstract
Which healthcare intervention “works best, for whom, and under what circumstances?” (Clancy and Slutsky, 2009). This is the central question of comparative effectiveness research (CER), which encompasses all patients, including those traditionally underrepresented in clinical research such as children or individuals with comorbid conditions, and ideally helps address health disparities. CER studies may include both the generation of new evidence and the synthesis of existing evidence. As a result, CER methods comprise a variety of statistical design and analysis methodologies such as randomized controlled trials, pragmatic trials, observational studies, propensity scores, and meta-analysis. In this talk, I will define CER, and briefly discuss its policy origins and the current funding environment. From a statistician’s perspective and via examples, I will seek to elucidate both CER’s promise and challenge in helping patients, clinicians and policymakers reach more informed health care decisions.
