ArticleHealth services & outcomes research methodology2025
Practical challenges in mediation analysis: a guide for applied researchers.
Article in Health services & outcomes research methodology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 33 papers.
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Who cites it
33 citing papers in PubMed.
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for people living with motor neuron disease: the COMMEND feasibility study and randomised controlled trial.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2025Trial
- Randomized Controlled Trial of Group-Blended and Individual-Unguided Online Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy to Reduce Psychological Distress in People With Cancer.Psycho-oncology · 2025Trial
- Cue-Based Authenticity Appraisals in Limited-Verifiability Contexts: A Two-Study Test in Historic Automotive Events.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- What shapes trust in healthcare? Socio-economic and structural determinants of trust in formal and traditional health providers across 111 countries.SSM - population health · 2026Article
- Comment on "Associations of Socioeconomic Status and Group Exercise Participation With Happiness in Older Japanese Adults: A Mediation Analysis".Geriatrics & gerontology international · 2026Article
- Associations Among Living Alone, Eating Alone, and Depressive Symptoms: Evidence from a Nationwide Study of South Korean Adults.Nutrients · 2026Article
- Race and Ethnicity, Hypertension, and Neuroimaging Markers of Brain Aging: A Causal Mediation Analysis in the HABS-HD Study.Neurology · 2026Article
- Health Literacy and Mental Health in Adolescents: Parental and Self-Reported Cross-Sectional Data in a Bilingual Region.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Key Mediators Reducing Socioeconomic Inequality in Early Childhood Caries.JDR clinical and translational research · 2026Article
- Direct and Indirect Effects of Body Dysmorphic Concern on Psychotic Symptoms Through Suicidal Ideation in Patients With First-Episode Schizophrenia.Early intervention in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Dietary intake, fatty acid in adipose tissue and cardio-metabolic health: cross-sectional study from the TwinsUK cohort.Nutrition & diabetes · 2026Article
- Application of a conceptual model to predict physical activity identity among Canadian adults.British journal of health psychology · 2026Article
- The Mediating Role of Team Resilience at Work Between Teamwork Practice Environment, Team Functioning and Cohesion in Oncology: A Cross-Sectional Study.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2026Article
- [Psychometric properties of a direct violence scale and its behavioral mediation].Revista medica del Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social · 2026Observational
- Mechanisms and Contingencies of Stress in University Students: A Systematic Scoping Review of Stress Mediators and Moderators.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Association of total fish-shellfish consumption with biological aging: a cross-sectional analysis of NHANES 1999-2020 with mediation by inflammatory and antioxidant biomarkers.Irish journal of medical science · 2026Article
- Article
- Mediation analysis to identify causes of racial disparity in health outcomes: a comparison of model-based and outcome-based approaches.BMC medical research methodology · 2026Article
- Teacher identity as a mediator in the relationship between self-efficacy and possible selves.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Teacher support, peer support, and art creativity: the mediating roles of learning interest and self-efficacy.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Mediation analysis is a statistical approach that can provide insights regarding the intermediary processes by which an intervention or exposure affects a given outcome. Mediation analyses rose to prominence, particularly in social science research, with the publication of Baron and Kenny's seminal paper and is now commonly applied in many research disciplines, including health services research. Despite the growth in popularity, applied researchers may still encounter challenges in terms of conducting mediation analyses in practice. In this paper, we provide an overview of conceptual and methodological challenges that researchers face when conducting mediation analyses. Specifically, we discuss the following key challenges: (1) Conceptually differentiating mediators from other "third variables," (2) Extending beyond the single mediator context, (3) Identifying appropriate datasets in which measurement and temporal ordering support the hypothesized mediation model, (4) Selecting mediation effects that reflect the scientific question of interest, (5) Assessing the validity of underlying assumptions of no omitted confounders, (6) Addressing measurement error regarding the mediator, and (7) Clearly reporting results from mediation analyses. We discuss each challenge and highlight ways in which the applied researcher can approach these challenges.
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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.