Evidence map›Paper›PMID 24405854›Full record

Trial reportTrials2014

The face of equipoise--delivering a structured education programme within a randomized controlled trial: qualitative study.

Helen C Eborall, Helen M Dallosso, Heather Daly, Lorraine Martin-Stacey, Simon R Heller

Open access · goldAbstract readMulticenter StudyRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Trials, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
15citing papers in PubMed
8.4field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

15 citing papers in PubMed, 25 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Helen C EborallSocial Science Applied to Healthcare Improvement Research (SAPPHIRE) Group, Department of Health Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK. hce3@le.ac.uk.
Helen M Dallosso
Heather Daly
Lorraine Martin-Stacey
Simon R Heller
University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust · GBUniversity of Leicester · GBUniversity of Sheffield · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIn trials of behavioural interventions, the individuals who deliver the intervention are in a position of key influence on the success of the trial. Their fidelity to the intervention is crucial. Yet little is understood about the experiences of this group of trial personnel. This study aimed to investigate the views and experiences of educators who delivered a structured education intervention to people with type 2 diabetes, which incorporated training in self-monitoring of either blood glucose (SMBG) or urine glucose (SMUG) as part of a randomized controlled trial (RCT).

methodsEducators' views were explored through focus groups before and after training (N=18) and approximately 1 year into the trial (N=14), and semi-structured telephone interviews at approximately 2 years (N=7). Analysis was based on the constant comparative method.

resultsEducators held preferences regarding the intervention variants; thus, they were not in individual equipoise. Training raised awareness of preferences and their potential to impact on delivery. Educators were confident in their unbiased delivery, but acknowledged the challenges involved. Concealing their preferences was helped by a sense of professionalism, the patient-centred nature of the intervention, and concessions in the trial protocol (enabling participants to swap monitoring methods if needed). Commitment to unbiased delivery was explained through a desire for evidence-based knowledge in the contentious area of SMBG.

conclusionsThe findings provide insight into a previously unexplored group of trial personnel--intervention deliverers in trials of behavioural interventions--which will be useful to those designing and running similar trials. Rather than individual equipoise, it is intervention deliverers' awareness of personal preferences and their potential impact on the trial outcome that facilitates unbiased delivery. Further, awareness of community equipoise, the need for evidence, and relevance to the individual enhance commitment to the RCT.

trial registrationISRCTN95696668.

Indexed as

Attitude of Health PersonnelBlood Glucose Self-MonitoringHealth Knowledge, Attitudes, PracticePatient Education as TopicTherapeutic EquipoiseBiomarkersBlood GlucoseConflict of InterestDiabetes Mellitus, Type 2EnglandEvidence-Based MedicineFocus GroupsGlycosuriaHumansInterviews as TopicProfessional RoleBiomarkersBlood Glucose

Identifiers

PMID24405854
PMCPMC3892103
OpenAlexW2147535383

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.