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Can treatment trial samples be representative?

Jackie A Wales¹, Robert L Palmer, Christopher G Fairburn

¹University Department of Health Sciences, Brandon Unit, Leicester General Hospital, Leicester, UK. jw127@le.ac.uk

Behaviour Research and Therapy

|August 4, 2009

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Eating disorder treatment trials can yield representative samples. Patients in trials mirrored those in regular clinics, suggesting findings are broadly applicable to similar settings.

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Area of Science:

Clinical Psychology
Psychiatry
Eating Disorder Research

Background:

Eating disorder treatment trials often use specific inclusion/exclusion criteria.
Concerns exist regarding the generalizability of trial findings to broader patient populations.
Representativeness of research samples is crucial for clinical applicability.

Purpose of the Study:

To assess the representativeness of a patient sample recruited for an eating disorder treatment trial.
To compare trial participants with patients from the same catchment area treated outside of a trial.
To determine the extent to which trial results can be generalized to typical clinical settings.

Main Methods:

A catchment area-based sample of eating disorder patients in a treatment trial was identified.
This sample was compared to patients from the same geographical area seen 12 months prior and post-trial.
Demographic and clinical characteristics of the three patient groups were analyzed.

Main Results:

The three patient samples (trial, pre-trial, post-trial) exhibited significant similarities.
The research sample was found to be representative of the usual clinic population.
This suggests minimal bias introduced by trial recruitment criteria.

Conclusions:

Eating disorder treatment trial samples can be representative of the general clinical population.
Appropriate study design and criteria allow for useful generalizability of trial findings.
Results from this trial can be extrapolated with confidence to similar clinical environments.