Filling Two Major Gaps in the Analysis of Heterogeneity of Treatment Effects for Patient-Centered Outcomes Research [Methods Study], 2013-2018

Comparative effectiveness research compares two or more treatments to see which one works better for which patients. Sometimes, groups of people respond differently to the same treatment. For example, women might, on average, receive more benefit from a treatment than men do. If researchers group women and men together when they analyze study data, they may miss this difference and overlook some of the benefits of a treatment.
Researchers can analyze data on the effects of a treatment in many ways. Each way has strengths and weaknesses. Bayesian regression is one method that allows researchers to consider various factors in their analysis, such as patients' ages, sex, or health problems. This method can help researchers understand how different groups of people respond to a treatment. But it requires advanced computer programs that are not readily available to all researchers.
In this study, the research team wanted to make it easier for researchers to use Bayesian regression.
To access the R package, please visit the Beanz CRAN webpage.