Dataset Information

The Effect of Question Order on Outcomes in the Core Outcome Set for Brief Alcohol Interventions Among Online Help-Seekers: Protocol for a Factorial Randomized Trial.

ABSTRACT:

Background

A core outcome set (COS) for trials and evaluations of the effectiveness and efficacy of alcohol brief interventions (ABIs) has recently been established through international consensus to address the variability of outcomes evaluated.

Objective

This is a protocol for studies to assess if there are order effects among the questions included in the COS.

Methods

The 10 items of the COS are organized into 4 clusters. A factorial design will be used with 24 arms, where each arm represents 1 order of the 4 clusters. Individuals searching online for help will be asked to complete a questionnaire, and consenting participants will be randomized to 1 of the 24 arms (double-blind with equal allocation). Participants will be included if they are 18 years or older. The primary analyses will (1) estimate how the order of the clusters of outcomes affects how participants respond and (2) investigate patterns of abandonment of the questionnaire.

Results

Data collection is expected to commence in November 2020. A Bayesian group sequential design will be used with interim analyses planned for every 50 participants completing the questionnaire. Data collection will end no more than 24 months after commencement, and the results are expected to be published no later than December 2023.

Conclusions

Homogenizing the outcomes evaluated in studies of ABIs is important to support synthesis, and the COS is an important step toward this goal. Determining whether there may be issues with the COS question order may improve confidence in using it and speed up its dissemination in the research community. We encourage others to adopt the protocol as a study within their trial as they adopt the ORBITAL (Outcome Reporting in Brief Intervention Trials: Alcohol) COS to build a worldwide repository and provide materials to support such analysis.

Trial registration

ISRCTN Registry ISRCTN17954645; http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN17954645.

International registered report identifier (irrid)

PRR1-10.2196/24175.

SUBMITTER: Bendtsen M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7728524 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

The Effect of Question Order on Outcomes in the Core Outcome Set for Brief Alcohol Interventions Among Online Help-Seekers: Protocol for a Factorial Randomized Trial.

Bendtsen Marcus M Garnett Claire C Toner Paul P Shorter Gillian W GW

JMIR research protocols 20201126 11

<h4>Background</h4>A core outcome set (COS) for trials and evaluations of the effectiveness and efficacy of alcohol brief interventions (ABIs) has recently been established through international consensus to address the variability of outcomes evaluated.<h4>Objective</h4>This is a protocol for studies to assess if there are order effects among the questions included in the COS.<h4>Methods</h4>The 10 items of the COS are organized into 4 clusters. A factorial design will be used with 24 arms, whe ...[more]

PMID: 33242024

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Project description:BackgroundCore outcome set (COS) developers increasingly employ Delphi surveys to elicit stakeholders' opinions of which outcomes to measure and report in trials of a particular condition or intervention. Research outside of Delphi surveys and COS development demonstrates that question order can affect response rates and lead to 'context effects', where prior questions determine an item's meaning and influence responses. This study examined the impact of question order within a Delphi survey for a COS for oesophageal cancer surgery.MethodsA randomised controlled trial was nested within the Delphi survey. Patients and health professionals were randomised to receive a survey including clinical and patient-reported outcomes (PROs), where the PRO section appeared first or last. Participants rated (1-9) the importance of 68 items for inclusion in a COS (ratings 7-9 considered 'essential'). Analyses considered the impact of question order on: (1) survey response rates; (2) participants' responses; and (3) items retained at end of the survey.ResultsIn total, 116 patients and 71 professionals returned completed surveys. Question order did not affect response rates among patients, but fewer professionals responded when clinical items appeared first (difference?=?31.3%, 95% confidence interval [CI]?=?13.6-48.9%, P?=?0.001). Question order led to different context effects within patients and professionals. While patients rated clinical items highly, irrespective of question order, more PROs were rated essential when appearing last rather than first (difference?=?23.7%, 95% CI?=?10.5-40.8%). Among professionals, the greatest impact was on clinical items; a higher percentage rated essential when appearing last (difference?=?11.6%, 95% CI?=?0.0-23.3%). An interaction between question order and the percentage of PRO/clinical items rated essential was observed for patients (P?=?0.025) but not professionals (P?=?0.357). Items retained for further consideration at the end of the survey were dependent on question order, with discordant items (retained by one question order group only) observed in patients (18/68 [26%]) and professionals (20/68 [29%]).ConclusionsIn the development of a COS, participants' ratings of potential outcomes within a Delphi survey depend on the context (order) in which the outcomes are asked, consequently impacting on the final COS. Initial piloting is recommended with consideration of the randomisation of items in the survey to reduce potential bias.Trial registrationThe randomised controlled trial reported within this paper was nested within the development of a core outcome set to investigate processes in core outcome set development. Outcomes were not health-related and trial registration was not therefore applicable.

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Dataset Information

The Effect of Question Order on Outcomes in the Core Outcome Set for Brief Alcohol Interventions Among Online Help-Seekers: Protocol for a Factorial Randomized Trial.

Background

Objective

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Trial registration

International registered report identifier (irrid)

Publications

The Effect of Question Order on Outcomes in the Core Outcome Set for Brief Alcohol Interventions Among Online Help-Seekers: Protocol for a Factorial Randomized Trial.

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