ArticleBMC medical research methodology2011
"Did the trial kill the intervention?" experiences from the development, implementation and evaluation of a complex intervention.
Article in BMC medical research methodology, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
27 citing papers in PubMed, 59 citations in OpenAlex.
- Enhancing the psychological well-being and sleep quality of healthcare providers with a multimodal psychological support program: a randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in public health · 2024Trial
- Trial
- Implementing a telehealth prehabilitation education session for patients preparing for major cancer surgery.BMC health services research · 2021Trial
- Trial
- COSMOS--improving the quality of life in nursing home patients: protocol for an effectiveness-implementation cluster randomized clinical hybrid trial.Implementation science : IS · 2015Trial
- Trial
- Trial
- Trial
- Prevention of sexually transmitted infections in urban communities (Peru PREVEN): a multicomponent community-randomised controlled trial.Lancet (London, England) · 2012Trial
- Patient and phaRmacist telephonic encounters (PARTE) in an underserved rural patient population with asthma: results of a pilot study.Telemedicine journal and e-health : the official journal of the American Telemedicine AssociationTrial
- Taboo, safe spaces, and death sociability: A comparative ethnography of two compassionate communities.Palliative care and social practice · 2026Article
- Clinical utility of the Arabic medication-related burden quality of life (MRB-QoL) tool in hospital-based medicines optimisation services: A mixed methods feasibility study.Exploratory research in clinical and social pharmacy · 2025Article
- Shifting from Traditional to Pragmatic Randomized Controlled Trials: Insights and Lessons Learned from the Toddler Oral Health Intervention.Pragmatic and observational research · 2025Article
- 'Smart' BLE wearables for digital contact tracing in care homes during the COVID-19 pandemic-a process evaluation of the CONTACT feasibility study.Implementation science communications · 2023Article
- Oral Health Coaches at Well-Baby Clinics to Promote Oral Health in Preschool Children From the First Erupted Tooth: Protocol for a Multisite, Pragmatic Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR research protocols · 2022Article
- Feasibility of a peer-led, after-school physical activity intervention for disadvantaged adolescent females during the COVID-19 pandemic: results from the Girls Active Project (GAP).Pilot and feasibility studies · 2022Article
- Contextual factors influencing complex intervention research processes in care homes: a systematic review and framework synthesis.Age and ageing · 2022Article
- 'Don't let the trial kill the intervention': how can researchers and care home teams implement complex intervention trials in care homes?Age and ageing · 2022Article
- The value of real-world testing: a qualitative feasibility study to explore staff and organisational barriers and strategies to support implementation of a clinical pathway for the management of anxiety and depression in adult cancer patients.Pilot and feasibility studies · 2020Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe development, implementation and evaluation of any new health intervention is complex. This paper uses experiences from the design, implementation and evaluation of a rehabilitation programme to shed light on, and prompt discussion around, some of the complexities involved in such an undertaking.
methodsSemi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 trial participants and five members of staff at the conclusion of a trial evaluating a rehabilitation programme aimed at promoting recovery after stem cell transplantation.
resultsThis study identified a number of challenges relating to the development and evaluation of complex interventions. The difficulty of providing a standardised intervention that was acceptable to patients was highlighted in the participant interviews. Trial participants and some members of staff found the concept of equipoise and randomisation challenging and there was discord between the psychosocial nature of the intervention and the predominant bio-medical culture in which the research took place.
conclusionsA lack of scientific evidence as to the efficacy of an intervention does not preclude staff and patients holding strong views about the benefits of an intervention. The evaluation of complex interventions should, where possible, facilitate not restrict that complexity. Within the local environment where the trial is conducted, acquiescence from those in positions of authority is insufficient; commitment to the trial is required.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.