National Institute for Health and Care Research

Single-Case Experimental Designs to Assess Intervention Effectiveness in Rehabilitation: A Practical Guide

Krasny-Pacini and Evans (2018) provide a practical guide to using single-case experimental designs (SCEDs) to evaluate intervention effectiveness in rehabilitation settings.

The authors explain how SCEDs can provide rigorous evidence about intervention effectiveness using repeated measurements from one or a small number of participants. By allowing individuals to act as their own controls, SCEDs are particularly useful for rare conditions, highly individualised interventions, and clinical settings where large-scale trials are impractical. The paper outlines different SCED methodologies, key design considerations, outcome measurement strategies, and approaches to data analysis. Overall, it presents SCEDs as a valuable methodological tool that bridges clinical practice and research while supporting evidence-based rehabilitation.

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