The use and interpretation of quasi-experimental studies in infectious diseases.
Quasi-experimental study designs, sometimes called nonrandomized, pre-post-intervention study designs, are ubiquitous in the infectious diseases literature, particularly in the area of interventions aimed at decreasing the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Little has been written about the benefits and limitations of the quasi-experimental approach. This article outlines a hierarchy of quasi-experimental study design that is applicable to infectious diseases studies and that, if applied, may lead to sounder research and more-convincing causal links between infectious diseases interventions and outcomes.
Harris
Anthony D
AD
Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, USA. aharris@epi.umaryland.edu
Bradham
Douglas D
DD
Baumgarten
Mona
M
Zuckerman
Ilene H
IH
Fink
Jeffrey C
JC
Perencevich
Eli N
EN
D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000473:pathology* / Q000635:transmission*; D006801:Humans; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012107:Research Design / Q000592:standards* / Q000639:trends*