ArticleBMC medical research methodology2021
The use of experimental vignette studies to identify drivers of variations in the delivery of health care: a scoping review.
Article in BMC medical research methodology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 46 papers.
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Who cites it
46 citing papers in PubMed.
- Multiple Suggested Care Alternatives and Decision-Making of Primary Care Physicians: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2025Trial
- Factors related to community pharmacists' intention to provide collaborative deprescribing service for fall-risk medications in older adults: a factorial and theory-based cross-sectional study.International journal of clinical pharmacy · 2026Article
- Disparities in Healthcare Providers' Substance Use Detection Practices for Pregnant Patients.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2026Article
- From Assistance to Autonomy: Acceptability of Progressive Artificial Intelligence Integration in Facial Reconstructive Surgery-Protocol for Within-Subjects Vignette Experiment Among Romanian Adults.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Representing Chronic Pain Experiences Through Manual and AI-Driven Vignettes From Video Blog Data With Member Checking: Participatory Design Study.JMIR formative research · 2026Article
- Primary Healthcare Professionals' Perspectives on Cardiovascular Risk Communication to Persons With Type 2 Diabetes: A Grounded Theory Study.Nursing open · 2026Article
- Do individual or societal consequences matter more? Reducing antibiotic expectations for uncomplicated urinary tract infections in females.British journal of health psychology · 2026Article
- Deciding on thresholds for clinical relevance of PROMIS-upper extremity v2.0 in patients with upper extremity injury.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2026Article
- How Would You Treat? A Case-Vignette Study of Provider Treatment Preferences in Human Papillomavirus-Mediated Oropharyngeal Cancer.Head & neck · 2026Article
- Behavioural determinants of testing behaviour during a hypothetical human-to-human avian influenza outbreak: an interview study.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Exploring provider attitudes towards digital therapeutics for diabetes and depression.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Medical assistance in dying in pediatrics: a retrospective case study of clinical interactions and implications for team training.Paediatrics & child health · 2026Article
- The Use of Speculative Fiction in Future-Focused Health Care Research.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Consistency of post-acute care discharge recommendations among acute care physical therapists: a national vignette survey study.Physiotherapy theory and practice · 2026Article
- Ethnicity and clinical empathy in primary care consultations: a web-based experiment.BJGP open · 2026Article
- Antimicrobial redistribution: health practitioner One health perspectives on antimicrobial use in livestock for antimicrobial resistance education in Zimbabwe.JAC-antimicrobial resistance · 2026Article
- Key Information Influencing Patient Decision-Making About AI in Health Care: Survey Experiment Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Reading between the whines: human perceptions and beliefs about animal emotions predict how people would intervene with cats and dogs showing challenging behaviors.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- When algorithmic managers fail to fulfill their promises: The role of anthropomorphism in shaping justice perceptions.PloS one · 2026Article
- Patients' perspectives on ecologically sustainable health care in general practice: an experimental vignette and questionnaire study.BJGP open · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
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Abstract
backgroundIdentifying how unwarranted variations in healthcare delivery arise is challenging. Experimental vignette studies can help, by isolating and manipulating potential drivers of differences in care. There is a lack of methodological and practical guidance on how to design and conduct these studies robustly. The aim of this study was to locate, methodologically assess, and synthesise the contribution of experimental vignette studies to the identification of drivers of unwarranted variations in healthcare delivery.
methodsWe used a scoping review approach. We searched MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science and CINAHL databases (2007-2019) using terms relating to vignettes and variations in healthcare. We screened title/abstracts and full text to identify studies using experimental vignettes to examine drivers of variations in healthcare delivery. Included papers were assessed against a methodological framework synthesised from vignette study design recommendations within and beyond healthcare.
resultsWe located 21 eligible studies. Study participants were almost exclusively clinicians (18/21). Vignettes were delivered via text (n = 6), pictures (n = 6), video (n = 6) or interactively, using face-to-face, telephone or online simulated consultations (n = 3). Few studies evaluated the credibility of vignettes, and many had flaws in their wider study design. Ten were of good methodological quality. Studies contributed to understanding variations in care, most commonly by testing hypotheses that could not be examined directly using real patients.
conclusionsExperimental vignette studies can be an important methodological tool for identifying how unwarranted variations in care can arise. Flaws in study design or conduct can limit their credibility or produce biased results. Their full potential has yet to be realised.
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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.