A mapping between interactions and interference: implications for vaccine trials.

ABSTRACT: In this paper, we discuss relationships between causal interactions within the counterfactual framework and interference in which the exposure of one person may affect the outcomes of another. We show that the empirical tests for causal interactions can, in fact, all be adapted to empirical tests for particular forms of interference. In the context of interference, by recoding the response as some function of the outcomes of the various persons within a cluster, a wide range of different forms of interference can potentially be detected. The correspondence between causal interactions and forms of interference extends to encompass n-way causal interactions, interference between n persons within a cluster, and multivalued exposures. The theory for causal interactions provides a complete conc

SUBMITTER: VanderWeele TJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4580340 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature