Use of Interrupted Time Series Analysis in Evaluating Health Care Quality Improvements

• Published in: Academic pediatrics Vol. 13; no. 6; pp. S38 - S44
• Main Authors: Penfold, Robert B., Zhang, Fang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.11.2013
• Subjects: Antipsychotic Agents - therapeutic use; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - diagnosis; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity - drug therapy; Child, Preschool; Delivery of Health Care - standards; Delivery of Health Care - trends; Female; Health Services Research; Humans; interrupted time series; Interrupted Time Series Analysis; Male; Neonatal and Perinatal Medicine; Pediatrics; Pediatrics - standards; Pediatrics - trends; Quality Assurance, Health Care; Quality Improvement; quasi-experimental; research design; United States; United States; interrupted time series; research design; quasi-experimental; quality improvement

Interrupted time series (ITS) analysis is arguably the strongest quasi-experimental research design. ITS is particularly useful when a randomized trial is infeasible or unethical. The approach usually involves constructing a time series of population-level rates for a particular quality improvement...