Stepped Wedge Trial symposium and launch of series of papers published in Trials
The term Stepped Wedge Trial was coined by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Professor Peter Smith to describe a study of the impact of the roll out of Hepatitis B vaccination in the Gambia. The design has subsequently received significant and growing interest. The Stepped Wedge cluster-randomised trial is a research design in which clusters are randomly allocated to a time point at which they will introduce a new intervention. The design is used in a wide range of areas of public health, as well as other areas of public policy such as education and international development. It is an attractive design for a number of evaluation scenarios: notably the design is commonly recommended for pragmatic, implementation-science and translational evaluation studies. However, it also poses several challenges to researchers: guidance for many aspects of Stepped Wedge Trials are absent and there remain significant debate about the strengths and weaknesses of the design.
This symposium will address these issues.
The aims of the meeting are:
• to share current state-of-the-art understanding on the rationale, design, analysis and approaches to sample size determination for stepped wedge trials
• to foster discussion between, and provide technical support to, practitioners and methodologists considering, planning and undertaking Stepped Wedge Trials
• to present and launch a series of papers in the journal Trials on Stepped Wedge Trials
Questions the meeting will address include:
• When should you, and when shouldn’t you, do a Stepped Wedge Trial?
• What are the commonest, and what are the most robust, characteristics of Stepped Wedge Trials?
• How could you, and how should you, analyse data from a Stepped Wedge Trial?
• How should you determine the size of your stepped wedge trial?
• What does the future hold for stepped wedge trials?
The format of the meeting will be a scientific symposium featuring leading speakers on Stepped Wedge Trials and a panel discussion, with plenty of time for interesting debate, followed by a drinks reception. To view the draft agenda, please click here.
Funding
The cost for us to put on the symposium is about £25 per person. However, the School's Centre for Evaluation will cover the costs in order to make the event free to participants to maximise the number of people who can attend. However, available places are limited and so early registration is recommended.
Exciting lunchtime lecture
At lunchtime (1-2pm) on the same day there will be an exciting lecture entitled "De-worming reconsidered: re-analysis of an influential stepped-wedge trial with health and educational outcomes" by Alex Aiken and Calum Davey, also in the John Snow Lecture Theatre. Attendance at this lecture is encouraged for those interested in stepped wedge trials. It will be free to attend and no formal registration process is required.
