Term: Control Group

Glossary Definition

Last Updated: 2015-01-29

Definition:

A control group is a group of subjects that are used for comparison with treatment groups - subjects receiving a treatment - in randomized control trials and other epidemiological study designs. Selection of an appropriate control group is crucial to the validity of epidemiological studies (Last, 2001).

In Chateau et al. (2015), physicians in the control group did not receive an educational mailing package, regardless of whether they triggered a quality indicator. The control group in this research was compared to the intervention group.

For more information on case control and other types of epidemiological studies, please read the Study Design and Methods documentation, available on the MCHP web site.

Related terms 

• Case Control Studies
• Educational Mailing Package
• Intention-to-Treat Analysis
• Intervention Group
• Manitoba IMPRxOVE Program Data
• Odds Ratio
• Quality Indicator (QI) - IMPRxOVE Program
• Quality Indicator Trigger Rates (QI Trigger Rates)
• Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT)

Links 

• MCHP Documentation - Study Design and Methods Section

References 

• Last JM. A Dictionary of Epidemiology. 4th Edition. In: Spasoff, RA, et. al. (eds). New York, New York: Oxford University Press; 2001. 0-0.(View)

Term used in 

• Chateau D, Enns M, Ekuma O, Koseva I, McDougall C, Kulbaba C, Allegro E. Evaluation of the Manitoba IMPRxOVE Program. Winnipeg, MB: Manitoba Centre for Health Policy, 2015. [Report] [Summary] (View)