Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30826377›Full record

ReviewJournal of clinical epidemiology2019

The selection of comparators for randomized controlled trials of health-related behavioral interventions: recommendations of an NIH expert panel.

Kenneth E Freedland, Abby C King, Walter T Ambrosius, Evan Mayo-Wilson, David C Mohr, Susan M Czajkowski, Lehana Thabane, Linda M Collins, George W Rebok, Shaun P Treweek and 7 more

Registry-linked trialAbstract readComparative StudyReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Journal of clinical epidemiology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07749547 (Using Personalized Rehabilitation to Reduce Disease and Increase Activity of Patients With Polymyalgia Rheumatica), which is not on this map. Cited by 134 papers, 12 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
134citing papers in PubMed, 12 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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.

NCT07749547 nanot yet recruitingnot on this mapstarted 2026, after this paper: background citation

Using Personalized Rehabilitation to Reduce Disease and Increase Activity of Patients With Polymyalgia Rheumatica: a Feasibility Randomized Clinical Trial

TypeinterventionalSponsorWashington University School of MedicineRan2026 to 2027Enrolled20ConditionsPolymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR)ArmsMovement Pattern Training (MoveTrain), Usual Care
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

134 citing papers in PubMed, 12 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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  7. Mobile health interventions in multiple sclerosis: A systematic review.Multiple sclerosis (Houndmills, Basingstoke, England) · 2023
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  17. Effectiveness ofPsychological medicine · 2026
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74 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

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

17 authors.

Kenneth E FreedlandWashington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA. Electronic address: freedlak@wustl.edu.
Abby C KingStanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
Walter T AmbrosiusWake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA.
Evan Mayo-WilsonJohns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
David C MohrNorthwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA.
Susan M CzajkowskiNational Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Lehana ThabaneMcMaster University Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Linda M CollinsPennsylvania State University College of Health and Human Development, University Park, PA, USA.
George W RebokJohns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Shaun P TreweekUniversity of Aberdeen Health Services Research Unit, Aberdeen, Scotland.
Thomas D CookNorthwestern University Institute for Policy Research, Evanston, IL, USA.
Jack D EdingerNational Jewish Health, Denver, CO, USA.
Catherine M StoneyNational Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Rebecca A CampoNational Institutes of Health Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Deborah Young-HymanNational Institutes of Health Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research, Bethesda, MD, USA.
William T RileyNational Institutes of Health Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research, Bethesda, MD, USA.
National Institutes of Health Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Expert Panel on Comparator Selection in Behavioral and Social Science Clinical Trials

Funding

Fatigue, Anhedonia and Cardiac Prognostic Markers in Depressed Patients with Coronary Heart DiseaseR01HL147862 · NHLBI · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI FREEDLAND, KENNETH E · 2020 to 2024
$3.6M
DEPRESSION AND REHOSPITALIZATION IN PATIENTS WITH HEART FAILURER01HL119286 · NHLBI · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI FREEDLAND, KENNETH E · 2014 to 2018
$3.5M
Chief Scientist Office HSRU1Intramural NIH HHS Z99 HL999999NHLBI NIH HHS R01 HL119286NHLBI NIH HHS R01 HL147862
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesTo provide recommendations for the selection of comparators for randomized controlled trials of health-related behavioral interventions. STUDY DESIGN AND

settingThe National Institutes of Health Office of Behavioral and Social Science Research convened an expert panel to critically review the literature on control or comparison groups for behavioral trials and to develop strategies for improving comparator choices and for resolving controversies and disagreements about comparators.

resultsThe panel developed a Pragmatic Model for Comparator Selection in Health-Related Behavioral Trials. The model indicates that the optimal comparator is the one that best serves the primary purpose of the trial but that the optimal comparator's limitations and barriers to its use must also be taken into account.

conclusionWe developed best practice recommendations for the selection of comparators for health-related behavioral trials. Use of the Pragmatic Model for Comparator Selection in Health-Related Behavioral Trials can improve the comparator selection process and help resolve disagreements about comparator choices.

Indexed as

Practice Guidelines as TopicFemaleHumansMaleMental DisordersNational Institutes of Health (U.S.)Patient SelectionPsychotherapyRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicResearch DesignUnited StatesBehavioral researchComparative effectiveness researchControl groupsHealth behaviorPsychotherapyRandomized controlled trials as topicResearch design

Identifiers

PMID30826377
PMCPMC6543841

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.