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Editorial
September 2018

Negative Studies and the Science of Deimplementation

Author Affiliations
  • 1Division of General Pediatrics, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • 2Department of Pediatrics, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
  • 3Center for Pediatric Clinical Effectiveness, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • 4Office of Clinical Quality Improvement, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
JAMA Pediatr. 2018;172(9):807-809. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2018.2077

Negative studies—studies that fail to prove that a given intervention is superior to another—have historically been considered poor research investments and have been relegated to lower-impact journals or not published at all. However, in the past 5 years, well-designed negative studies have become important components of efforts to better understand and reduce medical overuse through initiatives guided by the principle that less is more, such as the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation’s Choosing Wisely campaign.1,2 Three articles in JAMA Pediatrics have highlighted the importance of using randomized designs to rigorously test clinical practices and determine if they improve outcomes or generate unnecessary costs, inconveniences, and/or risks of harm.

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