Results Summary and Professional Abstract
Results of This Project
Related Articles
Peer Review Summary
Peer review of PCORI-funded research helps make sure the report presents complete, balanced, and useful information about the research. It also assesses how the project addressed PCORI’s Methodology Standards. During peer review, experts read a draft report of the research and provide comments about the report. These experts may include a scientist focused on the research topic, a specialist in research methods, a patient or caregiver, and a healthcare professional. These reviewers cannot have conflicts of interest with the study.
The peer reviewers point out where the draft report may need revision. For example, they may suggest ways to improve descriptions of the conduct of the study or to clarify the connection between results and conclusions. Sometimes, awardees revise their draft reports twice or more to address all of the reviewers’ comments.
Peer reviewers commented, and the researchers made changes or provided responses. The comments and responses included the following:
- Reviewers said the report is well written but difficult to read given the complex statistical terminology. In response, the researchers wrote the introduction to be more direct and contain less jargon.
- Reviewers wondered how the study results can be used given that baseline characteristics of the patient population led to heterogeneous effects on multiple outcomes. The researchers agreed that their results cannot be easily generalized to other populations. The researchers emphasized that the goal of this methods study was to help show that investigators should not be looking for the effective treatment for a given population but the most effective mix of treatments for that population, such that a specific patient could not do better switching to a different treatment.
Conflict of Interest Disclosures
View the COI disclosure form.
Project Details
^John Brooks, PhD was affiliated with the University of Iowa when this project was funded.