The Use and Interpretation of Quasi-Experimental Studies in Infectious Diseases
Abstract
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.
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Like the randomised controlled trial, the quasi-experimental design can establish causal associations between an intervention and an outcome [34].
“Like the randomised controlled trial, the quasi-experimental design can establish causal associations between an invention and an outcome [34].”
From Effects of short-term breathing exercises on respiratory recovery in patients with COVID-19: a quasi-experimental study (2022) · cites this paper as [34]
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- Authors
- Eliopoulos, G. M., Harris, A. D., Bradham, D. D., Baumgarten, M., Zuckerman, I. H., Fink, J. C., & Perencevich, E. N.
- Affiliations
- University of Maryland, Baltimore (US)
- University of Maryland Medical System (US)
- Corresponding author
- Harris, A. D.
- Venue
- Clinical Infectious Diseases
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2004-06-01
- Volume
- 38
- Issue
- 11
- Pages
- 1586-1591
- ISSN
- 1058-4838 (ISSN-L)
- 1537-6591
- OpenAlex
- W2171456100
- Cited by
- 330
- References
- 4
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 23 · 2021: 21 · 2020: 23 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 18 · 2016: 18 · 2015: 21 · 2014: 28 · 2013: 23 · 2012: 18
- FWCI
- 10.47
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Clinical Infectious Diseases (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (K23 AI 01752-01A1, K23AI001752)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Statistics and Probability › Advanced Causal Inference Techniques
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health Policy Implementation Science
- Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Statistics and Probability › Statistical Methods in Epidemiology
- Keywords
- quasi-experimental design, non-randomized studies, causal inference, antibiotic-resistant bacteria, infection prevention interventions
- MeSH terms
- Communicable Diseases, Humans, Research Design, Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
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