Which Small-Sample Correction Should Be Used When Analyzing Stepped-Wedge Designs with Time-Varying Treatment Effects?
时变处理效应阶梯楔形设计应采用哪种小样本修正?
Stepped-wedge cluster randomized trials (SW-CRTs) evaluate interventions rolled out across clusters over time. Standard analyses typically use immediate-treatment (IT) models, which assume effects begin at crossover and remain constant thereafter. When effects vary with exposure duration, IT models may misrepresent target effects. Exposure-time indicator (ETI) models address this by allowing treatment effects to differ by time since exposure and by targeting the…