Cluster-randomized trials

Randomized clinical trials have become a major tool in the process of evaluating the benefits of new treatments or other interventions. One principal reason for this is that well-designed randomized trials can avoid the problems of bias, which might arise due to patient selection. The issues concerning these trials are largely cluster-randomized trials have become increasingly common, in both palliative medicine and diverse other health research areas. Cluster-randomized trials are characterized by the randomization of groups -clusters - of patients rather than individuals, and may offer many major advantages but also involve several particular considerations.