Research and scholarly methods: Audit studies

Abstract

Audit study methodologies have been utilized in pharmacy field research to obtain greater understanding of potential gaps in real‐world care and assess the accessibility of medications, services, and providers. Many audit studies utilize a secret‐shopper approach in which auditors follow specific assessment protocols and the subjects being audited are unaware of the audit taking place. The benefit of utilizing this approach, as compared to surveys or interviews, is that researchers are able to collect real‐world measures with minimized social desirability and recall biases. There are multiple audit study approaches investigators must consider. Additionally, successful audit studies often rely upon congruence of multiple auditors, and it is therefore essential to develop a study protocol that includes detailed guidance documents, data collection tools, and rigorous training and fidelity assessments. Audit methodologies must be conducted with meticulous auditor training and oversight, especially when investigators seek to audit a large sample and rely on auditors who may be participating on an unpaid volunteer basis. The purpose of this review is to provide an orientation to audit study methodologies and to describe best practices for conducting a successful audit study.

Research and scholarly methods: Appraising the available literature to inform a research project

“…Using this approach can mitigate common pitfalls within the research planning process and ensure that researchers can design and conduct studies that make timely and beneficial impacts on practice. 13 • Understanding gaps in local practice patterns: Audit studies 52 and surveys 53 • Implementing an effective therapeutic intervention: Implementation studies 54 and pragmatic clinical trials 55 • Moving onto "Step 3": Creating a research protocol 32 3. Reporting guidelines: https://www.equator-network.org/…”

Availability of Mental Telehealth Services in the US

“…In secret shopper studies, researchers contact facilities posing as prospective clients who are directly inquiring about service availability, thus mitigating potential social desirability bias that could be generated from a formal research survey. 15 Although secret shopper approaches have been used previously to assess the availability of mental health treatment, 16 , 17 , 18 to our knowledge none have focused on telehealth services. Based on the rapid scale-up of telehealth over the past 3 years, a secret shopper analysis provides a clear and timely picture of service composition throughout the US.…”