Bert Spilker

The Second Edition of this groundbreaking work refines the art and science of quality of life assessment and pharmacoeconomics and redefines the role of these evaluation parameters in clinical trials and health care decision-making. Dr. Spilker has assembled more than 200 experts from diverse clinical, research, and social science disciplines to provide a comprehensive reference on the methodology, interpretation, and use of quality of life and pharmacoeconomic studies. Expanded to four times its predecessor's size and scope, the Second Edition features: all-new sections on pharmacoeconomics and crucial health policy issues such as outcomes research a new, extensive section on cross-cultural and cross-national issues in quality of life assessment detailed information on specific tests and measures of quality of life comprehensive guidelines on choosing and administering tests and analyzing, interpreting, and presenting data many chapters on new topics such as phenomenology, assessment of spiritual status, and alternative/complementary medical treatments

Developing clinical trial designs developing and writing clincal protocols planning special types of clinical trials planning and conducting a single clincial trial a nonmathematical approach to statistics and data processing fundamental principles, considerations and techniques of the interpretation of clincal data interpretaion of safety and efficacy data interpretation of data from specific trials, modalities and populations issues and problems of clinical data interpretation publishing clinical data and evaluating published literature planning and conducting multiple clinical trials management of multiple clinical trials.

<b>Cross Design Synthesis: A New Strategy for Medical Effectiveness Research,</b>by US General Accounting Office (GAO/PEMD-92-19), 121 pp, paper, $2, Washington, DC, US General Accounting Office, 1992. Meta-analysis has generally been accepted as a valid method to address certain clinical questions that are evaluated in clinical trials. A number of researchers are expanding the scope and depth of this technique through such approaches as cumulative meta-analysis, in which the technique is repeated after each new clinical trial of a certain type is completed until the resulting effect reaches a predetermined level of significance. <i>Meta-Analysis for Explanation: A Casebook</i>is a recent book with eight authors, as well as four other chapter contributors. Nonetheless, the eight have created a book of great depth, which is essential reading for people interested in how this methodology may be used. This book will be of greatest interest to researchers in the social sciences, in which