Mention which information you needed

Word Count: 350 words

You are the Director of Quality for Pembrook Medical, a managed care organization with an extensive service area that is comprised predominantly of urban residents. The CEO of Pembrook, Ms. Barbara McGrew, is concerned about the number of members who experience premature birth and wants you to pursue interventions to address this problem. While she has indicated a willingness to commit some resources to studying various interventions, she reminds you that the business environment in which you work is highly competitive and margins are tight. Additionally, she expects your work to be completed within a 12-month timeframe. The CEO has read that the randomized controlled trial is considered the gold standard for research evaluating the efficacy of an intervention and has recommended that, if at all possible, this approach be used to substantiate that an intervention works.

You are somewhat familiar with research methodology and have some concerns regarding the RCT approach, especially given the limitations put forth by your CEO. Prepare a memo to Ms. McGrew explaining your concerns about applying RCT to this particular project. At a minimum, you should articulate one strength and one weakness of applying the RCT methodology to this project. Additionally, you should address each of the following issues as it pertains to this project:

1. Describe any issues that are present with applying the RCT to the population of interest (pregnant members).
2. Describe any issues that are present with assigning participants to a study group or a control group.
3. Describe any issues that are present in assessing the outcomes of the experiment (e.g., the study group versus the control group).