Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41209624›Full record

ArticleInternational journal of integrated care

Optimizing Study Design for Evaluating Complex Interventions: An Example of a Feasibility Study in Person-Centered and Integrated Chronic Disease Care in Dutch General Practice.

Lena H A Raaijmakers, Tjard R Schermer, Hester E van Bommel, Jan H Vercoulen, Tessa van Loenen, Erik W M A Bischoff

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in International journal of integrated care. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Lena H A RaaijmakersDepartment of Primary and Community Care, Radboud University Medical Center, Research Institute for Medical Innovation, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6016-3643
Tjard R SchermerDepartment of Primary and Community Care, Radboud University Medical Center, Research Institute for Medical Innovation, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1391-2995
Hester E van BommelDepartment of Primary and Community Care, Radboud University Medical Center, Research Institute for Medical Innovation, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6314-4576
Jan H VercoulenDepartment of Medical Psychology, Radboud University Medical Center, Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7300-9725
Tessa van LoenenDepartment of Primary and Community Care, Radboud University Medical Center, Research Institute for Medical Innovation, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6157-3935
Erik W M A BischoffDepartment of Primary and Community Care, Radboud University Medical Center, Research Institute for Medical Innovation, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3323-8475

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Complex interventions are frequently used at different levels in healthcare. The main aim of this paper is to describe a method for conducting a feasibility study in preparation of an evaluation study for a complex intervention by substantiating several essential methodological choices. These choices are (A) establishing the most appropriate outcomes and instruments to measure them, including comprehensibility of questionnaires for study participants, (B) exploring the distribution and size of these outcomes in the patient target population and (C) quantifying key assumptions for the sample size calculation. We describe this method through the example of our feasibility study on a person-centered and integrated care (PC-IC) approach for multimorbidity and chronic conditions in general practice. Methods: In 2021 we conducted a feasibility study in 7 general practices in three regions in the Netherlands. These practices replaced their standard disease management programs for diabetes mellitus type 2, cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and asthma with the PC-IC approach. Systematically selected questionnaires were administered to eligible patients at baseline and at 6 months, and comprehensibility of the questionnaires was assessed. We defined a composite outcome by comparing different scenarios for combining the questionnaire scores. Results: The method for thoroughly designing an evaluation study for a complex healthcare intervention consisted of several steps. First, the measurement instruments for the feasibility study were chosen after a structured literature search, consulting experts, checking the questionnaires for comprehensibility by patients, and a consensus meeting with the project team. Next, the questionnaires were applied in the study target population for a period of 6 months. The results were then analysed to explore the distribution and size of these outcomes. Subsequently we assessed the most appropriate outcomes, which led to the creation of a composite outcome in our example. The final step was performing a sample size calculation based on the results of the feasibility study. Conclusions: Using the described method, we conducted a feasibility study to prepare the evaluation of a complex intervention in Dutch general practice. Our paper is useful for other researchers preparing evaluation studies on complex interventions.

Indexed as

chronic disease managementgeneral practicemultimorbidityperson-centred integrated care

Identifiers

PMID41209624
PMCPMC12594077

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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.