Component-Based Evaluation of Complex Interventions with Network Meta-Analysis

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Complex interventions with several components are subject to clinical and health care research. New statistical methods to evaluate such interventions are urgently needed in order to be able to assess the efficacy of single components and design the most effective intervention. The objective of this project is to develop a general framework for the component-based evaluation of complex interventions. A conceptual framework will be defined on the basis of a systematic literature analysis in order to determine application areas, possibilities, and limits of a component-based evaluation. Subsequently, a statistical framework will be formulated which refers strongly to the development of the so-called network meta-analysis. This framework will be tested in the re-analysis of a study assessing the efficacy of psychotherapeutic interventions for chronically depressed patients. This project is expected to substantially enlarge the methodological repertoire of health services research and the evaluation of complex interventions.