Evidence-based treatments (e.g. quitlines) are greatly underutilized by smokers limiting their public health impact. A three-session phone intervention for nonsmoking family members and friends (i.e. support persons) was successful for increasing smoker quitline enrollment. To enhance the intervention's potential translatability, in this study, we…

Long-term regular exercise is associated with physiologic and morphologic alterations in the heart chambers. The aim of this study to evaluate left atrium (LA) phasic functions in professional football players and compare with control subjects. Left atrial volume was calculated at end-systole (Vmax), end-diastole and pre-atrial contraction by…

Designs that facilitate inferences concerning both the total and indirect effects of a treatment potentially offer a more holistic description of interventions because they can complement "what works" questions with the comprehensive study of the causal connections implied by substantive theories. Mapping the sensitivity of designs to…

Large-scale randomized studies provide the best means of evaluating practical, replicable approaches to improving educational outcomes. This article discusses the advantages, problems, and pitfalls of these evaluations, focusing on alternative methods of randomization, recruitment, ensuring high-quality implementation, dealing with attrition, and…

Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are a long-standing and important design for conducting rigorous tests of the effectiveness of health interventions. However, many questions have been raised about the external validity of RCTs, their utility in explicating mechanisms of intervention and participants' intervention experiences, and their…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of proactive student-success coaching, informed by predictive analytics, on student academic performance and persistence. Specifically, semester GPA and semester-to-semester student persistence were the investigated outcomes. Uniquely, the community college focused the intervention on only…

Objective: To assess evidence of the effectiveness of school-based education programs for the prevention of child sexual abuse (CSA). The programs deliver information about CSA and strategies to help children avoid it and encourage help seeking. Methods: Systematic review including meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs), cluster…

Objective: To examine randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for treatment evidence for Black male adolescents suffering from comorbid mental illness and diabetes mellitus. Method: A review of the studies published in English-language journals was conducted. Results: We found no RCT focused on Black males with diabetes mellitus Type 2 (DMT2).…

Estimating treatment effects for subgroups defined by posttreatment behavior (i.e., estimating causal effects in a principal stratification framework) can be technically challenging and heavily reliant on strong assumptions. We investigate an alternative path: using bounds to identify ranges of possible effects that are consistent with the data.…

Cluster randomized trials involving participants nested within intact treatment and control groups are commonly performed in various educational, psychological, and biomedical studies. However, recruiting and retaining intact groups present various practical, financial, and logistical challenges to evaluators and often, cluster randomized trials…

The prevention science approach to emotional/behavioral disorders (EBD) focuses on early intervention targeting risk and resilience factors (e.g., early problem behaviors, teacher-child interactions, classroom climate). The current study investigates the effectiveness of BEST in CLASS, a classroom-based indicated preventive intervention targeting…

Background: People with dementia and family carers often experience difficulties communicating together. These difficulties are considered to contribute significantly to the depression, anxiety and negative feelings such as guilt often reported by dementia family carers. Aims: To develop and contribute to the theory and evidence base for…

This article outlines the rationale for adopting a mixed methods approach within randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and explores challenges associated in doing so. Taking the example of the EASE Back feasibility and pilot study (Evaluating Acupuncture and Standard care for pregnant womEn with "BACK" pain: ISRCTN49955124), we detail why…

Policymakers have invested significant resources in financial education to improve financial literacy of the poor, reduce bad financial decision-making, and increase take-up of financial services and products. Yet, there is limited evidence on the effectiveness of such interventions, especially in developing countries. This paper provides evidence…

Research has consistently linked social-emotional learning to important educational and life outcomes. Early elementary represents an opportune developmental period to proactively support children to acquire social-emotional skills that enable academic success. Using data from a large scale randomized controlled trial, the purpose of this study…