The target trial framework in clinical epidemiology: principles and applications
AUTHORS
- PMID: 37863299 [PubMed].
ABSTRACT
The target trial framework provides an organizing principle for the design of observational studies that leads to clinically interpretable results and analytic approaches that can prevent common biases. Conceptualizing an observational study as an attempt to emulate a target trial not only enables sharper causal inferences, but also fosters symmetrical evaluation of observational studies and randomized trials when assessing the effectiveness and safety of medical treatments. This article outlines how the target trial framework is a tool for structuring observational analyses and refining causal questions, discusses how it can help overcome avoidable pitfalls of traditional causal analyses of observational data, and provides examples of successful applications.
Tags: 2023 Alumni Publications