The Stats People contribute to emotional blunting research
The brief to tabulate emotional blunting study findings
There was a need for two sets of tabulations for a study on the effects and causes of emotional blunting for two parallel research studies carried out: one directly among patients suffering from depression taking antidepressant medication and the other one among health care professionals, including analysis of patients seen recently. Additional multivariate work took place alongside the tabulation. The study was published in the Annals of General Psychiatry: learn more here.
The content we had to work with
Questionnaires comprised a combination of new research questions as well as validated question sets usable by the academic community in other published studies on depression, including the Oxford Depression Questionnaire, The Functioning Assessment Short Tests (FAST), and published question sets to measure childhood trauma and wellbeing.
Process overview
We had to agree on a specification for the analysis in advance, covering proposed crossbreaks, composite measures for new questions, validation question sets, and the methodology for multivariate work. Interim drafts of the tables produced required refining following the survey fieldwork. After this, final adjustments of crossbreaks and tables were completed in light of the defined base sizes of key subgroups. This enabled production of analysis. Our team proofread and amended summaries written by the report authors.
The brief
Two sets of tabulations and additional multivariate analysis for parallel studies on the effects and causes of emotional blunting.
The content
Questionnaires comprised a combination of new research questions as well as validated question sets usable by the academic community in other published studies on depression.
The challenges
Deadline pressures affected the division of work between several team members, considering the need for two sets of tables to be developed using a common framework. The HCP tables were particularly challenging. They had to incorporate data at the physician level (e.g. their general approach to treating patients with depression) and data at the level of their patient case records (e.g. the symptoms reported by patients themselves and the severity of depression). Also, we created composite measures for outcomes for validated question sets in line with rigid rules. They were programmed in SPSS and later exported into our tabulation software.
The result
The extensive work involved numerous drafts of tables, analysis, and multiple iterations of discussion with our clients following the introduction of additional requirements by their clients or the tweaking of objectives. This required an ongoing effort by all team members across a range of platforms, including SPSS, Merlin, and Excel. The clients were very happy with the deliverables both in terms of the look and quality of the tables, the high level of senior input into their preparation, and the ability to engage with multiple members of the client’s team on an ongoing basis.
The challenge
The need to undertake multiple iterations of analysis and create two complex sets of tabulations to a tight deadline, incorporating changing client requirements.
The result
The clients were very happy with the final result both in terms of the look and quality of the tables, the high level of senior input into their preparation, and the ability to engage with multiple members of the client’s team on an ongoing basis.
Emotional blunting in patients with depression. Part I: clinical characteristics – PubMed (nih.gov)
Emotional blunting in patients with depression. Part II: relationship with functioning, well-being, and quality of life – PubMed (nih.gov)
Emotional blunting in patients with depression. Part III: relationship with psychological trauma – PubMed (nih.gov)
Emotional blunting in patients with depression. Part IV: differences between patient and physician perceptions – PubMed (nih.gov)