In a special issue of the journal Social Science & Medicine, 26 social scientists comment on the usefulness of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) when it comes to evaluating health interventions. This interdisciplinary discussion—inspired by an article by Angus Deaton and Nancy Cartwright— includes articles by Harvard Pop Center faculty members, including Ichiro Kawachi, and S V Subramanian (who, along with a colleague, authored the preface), Robert J. Sampson, and postdoctoral fellow Rockli Kim.
Use of randomized control trials (RCTs) in social interventions not without challenges, but still valuable
Harvard Pop Center Director Lisa Berkman has authored a study published in European Journal of Public Health that finds that while RCTs can pose challenges for both social and biomedical interventions alike, they still can serve as a helpful way to identify causal relationships.