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The stepped wedge cluster randomised trial: what it is and when it should be used

Michael J Campbell, Karla Hemming and Monica Taljaard
Med J Aust 2019; 210 (6): . || doi: 10.5694/mja2.50018
Published online: 1 April 2019

The basic premise of a stepped wedge cluster randomised trial (SW‐CRT) is that all clusters start in the control condition, and they switch to the intervention condition in an order determined by randomisation. SW‐CRTs differ from cluster crossover trials in that the switch is only in one direction, from control to intervention condition.


  • 1 School of Health and Related Research, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
  • 2 Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
  • 3 Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Canada


Series editors

John R Attia

Michael P Jones


Competing interests:

No relevant disclosures.

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