Trial characteristic | Definition |
---|---|
Cluster unit | Individual hospital. There are 12 clusters (hospitals) |
Cluster randomisation | 3 clusters (hospitals) randomised to receive the intervention at a particular time point. There are 4 cluster groups |
Length of steps (observation periods) | 4Â months |
Number of steps | 6 steps |
Description of steps | Step 1 – all hospitals are pre-intervention Steps 2, 3, 4 – intervention clusters are added sequentially Steps 5, 6 – all hospitals are intervention hospitals |
Duration of trial | 24Â months |
Pre-intervention period | 4 to 16Â months |
Post-intervention period | 8 to 20Â months |