ReviewBMC medical research methodology2022
Case study research and causal inference.
Review in BMC medical research methodology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 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
14 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Associations between meeting 24-hour movement guidelines and health-related quality of life in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC public health · 2025Pooled it
- When "Integration" fails to address loneliness: interventional challenges of parent-led organizations for autistic children's social/emotional loneliness and health equity in China.BMC public health · 2026Article
- In response: Evaluating Methodological Limitations in the Use of Massage Therapy for PTSD Treatment.International journal of therapeutic massage & bodywork · 2026Article
- Suicidal Ideation Following a Single Dose of Melatonin in a Patient With Major Depressive Disorder: A Case Report.Clinical case reports · 2026Article
- Barriers to Lean & Safety Management Implementation in Primary Care Settings: Insights from an Unsuccessful Case.Risk management and healthcare policy · 2026Article
- A Mixed-Method Case Study to Evaluate Adoption of Clinical Decision Support for Cancer Symptom Management.Applied clinical informatics · 2025Article
- Advancing translational exposomics: bridging genome, exposome and personalized medicine.Human genomics · 2025Review
- Using natural experiments to evaluate population health and health system interventions: new framework for producers and users of evidence.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2025Article
- Framework for types of metainferences in mixed methods research.BMC medical research methodology · 2025Review
- Concordance between humans and GPT-4 in appraising the methodological quality of case reports and case series using the Murad tool.BMC medical research methodology · 2024Article
- Evaluation of Digitalisation in Healthcare and the Quantification of the "Unmeasurable".Journal of general internal medicine · 2023Article
- A Comprehensive Review on Cardiovascular Complications of COVID-19: Unraveling the Link to Bacterial Endocarditis.Cureus · 2023Review
- TRIPLE C reporting principles for case study evaluations of the role of context in complex interventions.BMC medical research methodology · 2023Review
- Exploring the Applicability of Case Study Research in Investigating Service Integration.International journal of integrated careArticle
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
Case study methodology is widely used in health research, but has had a marginal role in evaluative studies, given it is often assumed that case studies offer little for making causal inferences. We undertook a narrative review of examples of case study research from public health and health services evaluations, with a focus on interventions addressing health inequalities. We identified five types of contribution these case studies made to evidence for causal relationships. These contributions relate to: (1) evidence about system actors' own theories of causality; (2) demonstrative examples of causal relationships; (3) evidence about causal mechanisms; (4) evidence about the conditions under which causal mechanisms operate; and (5) inference about causality in complex systems. Case studies can and do contribute to understanding causal relationships. More transparency in the reporting of case studies would enhance their discoverability, and aid the development of a robust and pluralistic evidence base for public health and health services interventions. To strengthen the contribution that case studies make to that evidence base, researchers could: draw on wider methods from the political and social sciences, in particular on methods for robust analysis; carefully consider what population their case is a case 'of'; and explicate the rationale used for making causal inferences.
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.