A cluster randomization trail is one in which intact social units, or clusters of individuals, are randomized to different intervention groups. Trials randomizing clusters have become particularly widespread in the evaluation of non-therapeutic interventions, including lifestyle modification,educational programs and innovations in the provision of health care. The units of randomization in such studies are diverse, ranging from relatively small clusters such as families or households, to entire neighborhoods or communities, but also encompassing workplaces, hospital wards, classroomsand medical practices. The increasing popularity of this design among health researchers over the past two decades has led to an extensive body of methodology on the subject. This book is the first to present a systematic and unified treatment of this topic; it contains distinctive chapters on thehistory of cluster randomized trials, ethical issues, meta-analysis and guidelines. Written by two of the leading authorities in the field, this book is an essential reference text for investigators in the planning or analysis stages of a study. It is also highly suitable for use as a textbook in agraduate-level course in research methodology, and is aimed at biostatisticians, epidemiologists, health service researchers and public health professionals.

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Allan Donner is Professor and Chair, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Western Ontario. Neil Klar is a Senior Biostatistician, Division of Preventive Oncology, Cancer Care Ontario.

"The authors of this book cover an important area of statistical application infrequently discussed in biostatistics texts, namely methods appropriate to situations where the experimental units are groups of people instead of individuals. The stated purpose is to bring to the biostatisticalcommunity an understanding of cluster randomization methods. ... The authors have done a very good job of explaining why traditional methods are inappropriate and they provide discussion of several alternative analyses that can be used to generate more appropriate results at both the cluster andindividual levels. ... [T]he coverage is understandable to those without a great deal of rigorous background in statistics and so it is fair to say that the book is not written for experts. ... This particular book fills an important void in the biostatistics area specifically because it is writtenin way that is understandable to a group of people who need to learn about the issues discussed."--Doody's