ArticleBMJ evidence-based medicine2022
Randomized trials on non-pharmaceutical interventions for COVID-19: a scoping review.
Article in BMJ evidence-based medicine, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
20 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Communication to promote and support physical distancing for COVID-19 prevention and control: a rapid reviewThe Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2023Pooled it
- Personal protective effect of wearing surgical face masks in public spaces on self-reported respiratory symptoms in adults: pragmatic randomised superiority trial.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2024Trial
- Effect of Wearing Glasses on Risk of Infection With SARS-CoV-2 in the Community: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2022Trial
- The unintended health effects of US COVID-19 lockdowns: a systematic review.Health affairs scholar · 2025Review
- Nationwide longitudinal analysis of COVID-19 hospitalisation burden in immunocompromised patients.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Strengthening research preparedness for crises: lessons from Norwegian government agencies in using randomized trials and quasi-experimental methods to evaluate public policy interventions.Health research policy and systems · 2025Article
- Aversion to pragmatic randomised controlled trials: three survey experiments with clinicians and laypeople in the USA.BMJ open · 2024Article
- Facial Dermatoses Associated With Mask-Wearing in the COVID-19 Era: A Nationwide, Cross-Sectional, Multicenter, Questionnaire-based Study.Annals of dermatology · 2024Article
- The Ethical Obligation for Research During Public Health Emergencies: Insights From the COVID-19 Pandemic.Medicine, health care, and philosophy · 2024Article
- Propylene glycol inactivates respiratory viruses and prevents airborne transmission.EMBO molecular medicine · 2023Article
- Using a Bayesian hierarchical approach to study the association between non-pharmaceutical interventions and the spread of Covid-19 in Germany.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- An evidence double standard for pharmacological versus non-pharmacological interventions: Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic.Contemporary clinical trials communications · 2023Article
- Quality, integrity and utility of COVID-19 science: opportunities for public health researchers.European journal of public health · 2023Article
- Effects of non-compulsory and mandatory COVID-19 interventions on travel distance and time away from home, Norway, 2021.Euro surveillance : bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles = European communicable disease bulletin · 2023Article
- COVID-19 models and expectations - Learning from the pandemic.Advances in biological regulation · 2022Article
- Understanding the exceptional pre-vaccination Era East Asian COVID-19 outcomes.Advances in biological regulation · 2022Article
- Clinical trial research agenda on COVID-19 - the first two years in Germany and beyond.Zeitschrift fur Evidenz, Fortbildung und Qualitat im Gesundheitswesen · 2022Review
- Real-World Effectiveness of the mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines in Japan: A Case-Control Study.Vaccines · 2022Article
- Stay-at-home and face mask policy intentions inconsistent with incidence and fatality during the US COVID-19 pandemic.Frontiers in public health · 2022Article
- Aggressive measures, rising inequalities, and mass formation during the COVID-19 crisis: An overview and proposed way forward.Frontiers in public health · 2022Review
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.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveWe aimed at providing a systematic overview of randomised trials assessing non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) to prevent COVID-19.
designScoping review.
methodsWe included all randomised trials assessing NPIs to prevent COVID-19 in any country and setting registered in ClinicalTrials.gov and the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform using the COVID-evidence platform (until 17 August 2021). We searched for corresponding publications in MEDLINE/PubMed, Google Scholar, the Living Overview of Evidence platform, and the Cochrane COVID-19 registry as well as for results posted in registries (until 14 November 2021). Descriptive statistics using numbers and percentages were used in the narrative synthesis of the results.
resultsWe identified 41 randomised trials. Of them, 12 were completed (29.3%) including 9 with published results. The 41 trials planned to recruit a median of 1700 participants (IQR 588-9500, range 30-35 256 399) with a median planned duration of 8 months (IQR 3-14, range 1-24). Most came from the USA (n=11, 26.8%). The trials mostly assessed protective equipment (n=11, 26.8%), COVID-19-related information and education programmes (n=9, 22.0%), access to mass events under specific safety measures (n=5, 12.2%), testing and screening strategies (n=5, 12.2%) and hygiene management (n=5, 12.2%).
conclusionsWorldwide, 41 randomised trials assessing NPIs have been initiated with published results available to inform policy decisions for only 9 of them. A long-term research agenda including behavioural, environmental, social and systems level interventions is urgently needed to guide policies and practices in the current and future public health emergencies.
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.