Which characteristic is an advantage that practice-based evidence stud

QUESTION

Which characteristic is an advantage that practice-based evidence studies have over RCTs?

a. Large sample sizes can be obtained easily.
b. Multiple sites are typically enrolled, resulting in greater generalizability.
c. Study efficacy is greater.
d. Multiple variables can be studied.

ANSWER:

ANS: C
Practice-based evidence (PBE) designs trade away the internal validity of RCTs for external validity. PBE designs have high external validity because they include virtually all patients with, or at risk for, the condition under study, as well as potential confounders that could alter treatment responses. PBE designs attempt to minimize threats to internal validity by trying to collect information on all patient variables – demographic, medical, nursing, functional, and socioeconomic – that might account for differences in outcome. By doing so, PBE designs minimize the need for compensating statistical techniques such as instrumental variables and propensity scoring to mitigate selection bias effects, unknown sources of variance, and threats to internal validity.