Matching Study Designs to Research Questions in Disability-Related Comparative Effectiveness Research

Individuals with disabilities have complex characteristics and health service needs, which can make strong study design and implementation a challenge. Because of this complexity, randomized controlled trials, the “gold standard†of study design to evaluate evidence, may not always be necessary or even ethical. This research brief offers strategies and guidance help researchers enlarge the set of study designs to help use comparative effectiveness to answer disability-relevant health care questions.