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A Randomized Controlled Trial ( Rct )

Satisfactory Essays

Study Design and Sample
The authors of this research article choose to utilize a randomized controlled trial (RCT). The researchers compared two acceptable treatments for generalized anxiety disorder in an effort to prove one is better than the other. The two treatments being compared is telephone-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy and nondirective supportive therapy (Brenes, Danhauer, Lyles, & Miller, 2014). Cognitive behavioral therapy is a non-pharmacological way of treating generalized anxiety disorder. Prior to this research study, this type of treatment was only applied to group therapy (Brenes et al., 2014). No research found to support the use of this therapy using telephone and in a one-to-one therapy section. Nondirective supportive therapy utilizes the development of a therapeutic relationship and reflective communication (Brenes et al., 2014). One of the goals of the study was to prove that telephone-delivered therapy can be utilized to treat anxiety in older adults.
Using the checklist for RCTs found in Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt (2004), the study was analyzed. To ensure that the subjects were randomized employing an internet system and staff members that would not be involved in the study. This action made the research reliable. However, the study did not discuss any subjects that may have dropped out of the study or had to leave because the treatment was not being effective and/or needed more in-depth treatment for their disease process. The

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