CIMTx provides a streamlined approach to implement various methods designed to draw causal inferences about multiple treatments using observational data with a focus on binary outcomes. The methods include regression adjustment, inverse probability of treatment weighting, Bayesian additive regression trees, regression adjustment with multivariate spline of the generalized propensity score, vector matching and targeted maximum likelihood estimation. In addition, CIMTx illustrates ways in which users can simulate data adhering to the complex data structures in the multiple treatment setting. Furthermore, the CIMTx package offers a unique set of features to address the key causal identification assumptions: positivity and ignorability. For the positivity assumption, CIMTx demonstrates techniques to identify the common support region for retaining inferential units. The ignorability assumption can be violated in observational studies when there exists unmeasured confounding. CIMTx provides a flexible Monte Carlo sensitivity analysis approach to evaluate how causal conclusions would change in response to different magnitude of departure from the ignorability assumption.
翻译:CIMTx为采用各种旨在利用观测数据对多种治疗进行因果关系推断的方法提供了简化的方法,这些方法包括回归调整、治疗权重的反概率、巴伊西亚累增回归树、以通用偏差分多变量样条进行回归调整、矢量匹配和有针对性的最大概率估算;此外,CIMTx还说明了用户如何模拟数据,以遵守多重治疗环境中的复杂数据结构;此外,CIMTx软件包提供了一套独特的特征,以解决关键因果关系认定假设:假设性和可忽略性。关于假定性,CIMTx展示了确定保留推断单位的共同支持区域的技术。在存在非测量性混杂时,观察性研究可能违反忽略性假设。 CIMTx提供了灵活的蒙特卡洛敏感度分析方法,以评价因不同程度的偏离而改变因果结论的情况。