The required size of cluster randomized trials of nonpharmaceutical interventions in epidemic settings.

ABSTRACT: To control the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and future pathogen outbreaks requires an understanding of which nonpharmaceutical interventions are effective at reducing transmission. Observational studies, however, are subject to biases that could erroneously suggest an impact on transmission, even when there is no true effect. Cluster randomized trials permit valid hypothesis tests of the effect of interventions on community transmission. While such trials could be completed in a relatively short period of time, they might require large sample sizes to achieve adequate power. However, the sample sizes required for such tests in outbreak settings are largely undeveloped, leaving unanswered the question of whether these designs are practical. We develop approximate sample size formulae and simulation-

SUBMITTER: Sheen JK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9111156 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature