ArticleInternational journal of epidemiology2022
Reflection on modern methods: constructing directed acyclic graphs (DAGs) with domain experts for health services research.
Article in International journal of epidemiology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Pooled it
- Directed acyclic graphs in perioperative observational research-A systematic review and critique against best practice recommendations.PloS one · 2023Pooled it
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- Evaluating synergistic effects among multiple factors in disease causation: a new approach using a generalized synergy index.European journal of epidemiology · 2026Article
- Beyond the patient: how providers perceive and experience non-medical barriers in gastrointestinal cancer care.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Article
- Heterogeneity of Clazosentan Benefit after Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Demonstrated in an Externally Validated Causal Policy Tree.Neurocritical care · 2026Article
- The impact of physical activity on psychological distress in young people: An analysis of longitudinal data from the Millennium Cohort Study using causal machine learning.JCPP advances · 2026Article
- Mechanisms of practice facilitation identified using system dynamics diagramming in a tailored implementation study of unhealthy alcohol screening and treatment in primary care.Implementation science communications · 2026Article
- Article
- Dose-response relationship between obstructive sleep apnoea severity and C-reactive protein levels: data from the European Sleep Apnoea Database.ERJ open research · 2026Article
- Central venous catheter infections: building a causal model with expert domain knowledge to inform future clinical trials.Antimicrobial resistance and infection control · 2025Article
- A retrospective study of the impact of comorbidity, polypharmacy and demographic factors on patient inclusion and healthcare delivery in phase I oncology trials.BJC reports · 2025Article
- How to develop causal directed acyclic graphs for observational health research: a scoping review.Health psychology review · 2025Article
- Generalizing from qualitative data: a case example using critical realist thematic analysis and mechanism mapping to evaluate a community health worker-led screening program in India.Implementation science : IS · 2024Article
- Machine Learning Algorithms to Estimate Propensity Scores in Health Policy Evaluation: A Scoping Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
- An Approach for Combining Clinical Judgment with Machine Learning to Inform Medical Decision Making: Analysis of Nonemergency Surgery Strategies for Acute Appendicitis in Patients with Multiple Long-Term Conditions.Medical decision making : an international journal of the Society for Medical Decision Making · 2024Article
- Causal discovery and epidemiology: a potential for synergy.American journal of epidemiology · 2024Article
- Controlling time-varying confounding in difference-in-differences studies using the time-varying treatments framework.Health services & outcomes research methodology · 2024Article
- Application of the target trial emulation framework to external comparator studies.Frontiers in drug safety and regulation · 2024Article
- Software Application Profile: The daggle app-a tool to support learning and teaching the graphical rules of selecting adjustment variables using directed acyclic graphs.International journal of epidemiology · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Directed acyclic graphs (DAGs) are a useful tool to represent, in a graphical format, researchers' assumptions about the causal structure among variables while providing a rationale for the choice of confounding variables to adjust for. With origins in the field of probabilistic graphical modelling, DAGs are yet to be widely adopted in applied health research, where causal assumptions are frequently made for the purpose of evaluating health services initiatives. In this context, there is still limited practical guidance on how to construct and use DAGs. Some progress has recently been made in terms of building DAGs based on studies from the literature, but an area that has received less attention is how to create DAGs from information provided by domain experts, an approach of particular importance when there is limited published information about the intervention under study. This approach offers the opportunity for findings to be more robust and relevant to patients, carers and the public, and more likely to inform policy and clinical practice. This article draws lessons from a stakeholder workshop involving patients, health care professionals, researchers, commissioners and representatives from industry, whose objective was to draw DAGs for a complex intervention-online consultation, i.e. written exchange between the patient and health care professional using an online system-in the context of the English National Health Service. We provide some initial, practical guidance to those interested in engaging with domain experts to develop DAGs.
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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.