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Ryoko Susukida

Publications and source records attributed to Ryoko Susukida.

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Model-Robust Inference for Clinical Trials that Improve Precision by Stratified Randomization and Covariate Adjustment

Two commonly used methods for improving precision and power in clinical trials are stratified randomization and covariate adjustment. However, many trials do not fully capitalize on the combined precision gains from these two methods, which can lead to wasted resources in terms of sample size and trial duration. We derive consistency and asymptotic normality of model-robust estimators that combine these two methods, and show that these estimators can lead to substantial gains in precision and power. Our theorems cover a class of estimators that handle continuous, binary, and time-to-event outcomes; missing outcomes under the missing at random assumption are handled as well. For each estimator, we give a formula for a consistent variance estimator that is model-robust and that fully captures variance reductions from stratified randomization and covariate adjustment. Also, we give the first proof (to the best of our knowledge) of consistency and asymptotic normality of the Kaplan-Meier estimator under stratified randomization, and we derive its asymptotic variance. The above results also hold for the biased-coin covariate-adaptive design. We demonstrate our results using three completed, phase 3, randomized trial data sets of treatments for substance use disorder, where the variance reduction due to stratified randomization and covariate adjustment ranges from 1% to 36%.

stat.ME

Generalizing Randomized Trial Findings to a Target Population using Complex Survey Population Data

Randomized trials are considered the gold standard for estimating causal effects. Trial findings are often used to inform policy and programming efforts, yet their results may not generalize well to a relevant target population due to potential differences in effect moderators between the trial and population. Statistical methods have been developed to improve generalizability by combining trials and population data, and weighting the trial to resemble the population on baseline covariates.Large-scale surveys in fields such as health and education with complex survey designs are a logical source for population data; however, there is currently no best practice for incorporating survey weights when generalizing trial findings to a complex survey. We propose and investigate ways to incorporate survey weights in this context. We examine the performance of our proposed estimator in simulations by comparing its performance to estimators that ignore the complex survey design.We then apply the methods to generalize findings from two trials - a lifestyle intervention for blood pressure reduction and a web-based intervention to treat substance use disorders - to their respective target populations using population data from complex surveys. The work highlights the importance in properly accounting for the complex survey design when generalizing trial findings to a population represented by a complex survey sample.

stat.ME