New Study Announcement: Face Masks for Respiratory Symptoms
A new study published in BMJ (July 2024), co-designed by Prof. Lars Hemkens from RC2NB, assessed if wearing surgical face masks in public spaces reduces self-reported respiratory symptoms. The decentralized pragmatic randomized trial, conducted entirely online and remotely in Norway, included 4,647 adults and leveraged routinely collected “real world” data.
The study found that 9% of mask wearers reported symptoms over a 14-day period versus 12% of those not wearing masks, a statistically significant difference.
The innovative design of the study and related discussions offer valuable insights into ongoing debates around patient-reported outcomes, decentralized trials, remote assessment, and the challenges of missing data in non-blinded real-world research.
These discussions are especially important for our upcoming studies, as we expect to face similar challenges. The approach and outcomes of the study will influence the design and methodology of these projects, leading to stronger and more reliable results even when routine data from public registries is not available.
Read full article here: https://www.bmj.com/content/386/bmj-2023-078918
