A nurse is assisting with teaching a class about types of research studies. The nurse should include that which of the following is an example of a randomized controlled trial (RCT)?
A. A study examining environmental factors that lead to obesity
B. A study comparing a group of people who have diabetes mellitus with a group of people who do not have diabetes mellitus
C. A study examining the cause of falls in a long-term care facility
D. A study arbitrarily assigning people who smoke into either an experimental group or a control group to determine the effects of a new therapy to reduce smoking
Answer (2)
The correct example of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) is option D, which involves randomly assigning individuals who smoke into experimental and control groups to assess the effects of a new therapy. The random assignment is essential for minimizing bias and isolating the impact of the treatment. Other options describe observational studies rather than controlled experiments.
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A randomized controlled trial (RCT) is a type of scientific experiment which aims to reduce certain forms of bias when testing the effectiveness of new treatments. This is achieved primarily by randomly allocating subjects into either an experimental group or a control group.
Let's evaluate each of the study examples given in the question:
A study examining environmental factors that lead to obesity : This type of study is likely observational, as it examines relationships between environmental factors and obesity without manipulating any variables or randomly assigning subjects.
A study comparing a group of people who have diabetes mellitus with a group of people who do not have diabetes mellitus : This is an example of a case-control study, where two groups with differing outcomes are compared to find possible causes.
A study examining the cause of falls in a long-term care facility : This study is observational, focusing on identifying the causes of falls without manipulating variables.
A study arbitrarily assigning people who smoke into either an experimental group or a control group to determine the effects of a new therapy to reduce smoking : This is an example of a randomized controlled trial (RCT). In this study, participants who smoke are randomly assigned to receive either the new therapy (experimental group) or a placebo/alternative control (control group). The aim is to determine the effectiveness of the new therapy on reducing smoking.
The correct choice is: A study arbitrarily assigning people who smoke into either an experimental group or a control group to determine the effects of a new therapy to reduce smoking .
