title: A systematic review of quasi-experimental study designs in the fields of infection control and antibiotic resistance.
abstract: We performed a systematic review of articles published during a 2-year period in 4 journals in the field of infectious diseases to determine the extent to which the quasi-experimental study design is used to evaluate infection control and antibiotic resistance. We evaluated studies on the basis of the following criteria: type of quasi-experimental study design used, justification of the use of the design, use of correct nomenclature to describe the design, and recognition of potential limitations of the design. A total of 73 articles featured a quasi-experimental study design. Twelve (16%) were associated with a quasi-experimental design involving a control group. Three (4%) provided justification for the use of the quasi-experimental study design. Sixteen (22%) used correct nomenclature to describe the study. Seventeen (23%) mentioned at least 1 of the potential limitations of the use of a quasi-experimental study design. The quasi-experimental study is used frequently in studies of infection control and antibiotic resistance. Efforts to improve the conduct and presentation of quasi-experimental studies are urgently needed to more rigorously evaluate interventions.
authors.affiliation: Division of Health Care Outcomes Research, Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA. aharris@epi.umaryland.edu
authors.forename: Anthony D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.forename: Ebbing
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lautenbach
authors.forename: Eli
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Perencevich
mesh_terms: D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D006801:Humans; D017053:Infection Control / Q000379:methods*; D012107:Research Design / Q000592:standards*