Is randomized trial design adapted to population health intervention research?

Abstract

Randomized trials are frequently used in clinical research and considered the gold standard, but they are less common in population health intervention research (PHIR). We discuss issues that are sometimes shared and sometimes distinct between PHIR and clinical research, notably the randomization unit, design, standardization of the intervention, outcome(s) and ethical issues. In the end, both PHIR and clinical research share the common aim of assessing interventions, and randomized trials should be more widely used in PHIR, provided that how they are planned and conducted is adapted to the PHIR context.