Information on the best study designs for your research, from the BMJ Open editorial team.

Objective Recent clinical studies have shown that anticoagulant therapy might be effective only in specific at-risk subgroups of patients with sepsis and coagulation dysfunction. The definition of ...

Background Studies from different Western countries have reported a rapid increase in spinal surgery rates, an increase that exceeds by far the growing incidence rates of spinal disorders in the ...

Objective To determine the incidence of retinitis pigmentosa (RP) in South Korea. Design Nationwide, population-based retrospective study. Setting Census population of South Korea Participants This ...

Introduction Evidence from individual longitudinal studies suggests that anxiety and depression may impact quality of life. However, systematic reviews synthesising current evidence have mainly ...

Objectives To explore the experience of primary healthcare (PHC) professionals in their professional role during the pandemic and to describe collective coping strategies. Design We conducted a ...

Introduction The global population is ageing with percentages of older adult individuals aged 65 years and older projected to increase from 17% in 2020 to 22% in 2040. Therefore, comprehensive ...

Introduction Diabetes mellitus has increased in prevalence worldwide and is causing an increasing burden on health services. The best patient outcomes occur with early diagnosis to prevent health ...

Objectives To determine the extent and nature of changes in utilisation of healthcare services during COVID-19 pandemic. Design Systematic review. Eligibility Eligible studies compared utilisation of ...

Objective and methods: It is rare that trialists report power estimations of non-primary outcomes. In the present article, we will describe how to define a valid hierarchy of outcomes in a randomised ...

Objectives Examination of the prevalence and patterns of multimorbidity among the elderly in China. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting More than 10 000 households in 28 of the 34 provinces of ...

Objectives This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of depression and anxiety and associated risk factors among non-communicable diseases (NCD) clinic attendees in rural Rwanda. Design ...