ArticlePrevention science : the official journal of the Society for Prevention Research2022
Promoting Learning from Null or Negative Results in Prevention Science Trials.
Article in Prevention science : the official journal of the Society for Prevention Research, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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
23 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Systematic review of Aedes aegypti control trials suggests publication bias related to author disclosure of conflicts of interest.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2026Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Trial
- A mixed methods evaluation of a motivational enhancement intervention to increase SARS-CoV-2 testing among people experiencing houselessness and people who inject drugs.Psychological services · 2025Trial
- Two-Year Risk Behavior Outcomes from Connecting, a Prevention Program for Caregivers and Youth in Foster Care.Prevention science : the official journal of the Society for Prevention Research · 2023Trial
- Using a dark logic model to explore adverse effects in audit and feedback: a qualitative study of gaming in colonoscopy.BMJ quality & safety · 2022Trial
- Effect of the multicomponent healthy high school intervention on meal frequency and eating habits among high school students in Denmark: a cluster randomized controlled trial.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2022Trial
- Engaging Families in Voluntary Prevention Services to Reduce Future Child Abuse and Neglect: a Randomized Controlled Trial.Prevention science : the official journal of the Society for Prevention Research · 2021Trial
- Enhancing the utility of exploratory 'factors associated with' studies in global mental health: the importance of context in Sub-Saharan Africa.International journal of mental health systems · 2026Article
- International Stakeholder Guidance for Improving Informativeness of Randomized Clinical Trials.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- Conducting Evaluations in the Context of Tertiary Prevention of Youth Crime: Reflections from the Youth Endowment Fund.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Article
- Preventing Youth Crime and Violence: Intervention and Evaluation Issues.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Cardiorespiratory and vascular function outcomes following 4 weeks of single-sprint training.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Article
- Specialist medication monitoring and prescribing in primary care: case study of shared care agreements in Northern England, UK.BMJ open quality · 2025Article
- Letter to Editor regarding "Exploring the Acceptability of Post-bariatric Nutritional-Behavioral and Supervised Exercise Intervention (BARI-LIFESTYLE): A Mixed Methods Evaluation".Obesity surgery · 2025Article
- Pilot Testing an Ecotherapy Program for Adolescence: Initial Findings and Methodological Reflections.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- Open Science Standards at Journals that Inform Evidence-Based Policy.Prevention science : the official journal of the Society for Prevention Research · 2023Review
- Family, Mental Health, and Placement Outcomes of a Low-cost Preventive Intervention for Youth in Foster Care.Children and youth services review · 2023Article
- Money Matters: Time for Prevention and Early Intervention to Address Family Economic Circumstances.Journal of prevention (2022) · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
There can be a tendency for investigators to disregard or explain away null or negative results in prevention science trials. Examples include not publicizing findings, conducting spurious subgroup analyses, or attributing the outcome post hoc to real or perceived weaknesses in trial design or intervention implementation. This is unhelpful for several reasons, not least that it skews the evidence base, contributes to research "waste", undermines respect for science, and stifles creativity in intervention development. In this paper, we identify possible policy and practice responses when interventions have null (ineffective) or negative (harmful) results, and argue that these are influenced by: the intervention itself (e.g., stage of gestation, perceived importance); trial design, conduct, and results (e.g., pattern of null/negative effects, internal and external validity); context (e.g., wider evidence base, state of policy); and individual perspectives and interests (e.g., stake in the intervention). We advance several strategies to promote more informative null or negative effect trials and enable learning from such results, focusing on changes to culture, process, intervention design, trial design, and environment.
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.