Single Subject Designs and Practice-Based Research in Palliative Care: A Letter to the Editor

Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have advanced pain and symptom management in the context of chronic illnesses, and are regarded as the ideal designs to guard against threats to internal validity. These designs also enable researchers to obtain unbiased estimates of intervention effects compared to control conditions. However, overreliance on RCTs may stifle research progress if resources are limited, clinically meaningful differences are small, or participants differ from those who do not consent, are excluded, or leave the study prior to completion.

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