Table 2.

Examples of equity-relevant trials and those with no evidence about health equity

Type of trial	Example RCT
1. Provides evidence of effects in a population considered to be disadvantaged	A study of a classroom drama intervention for mental health of immigrant and refugee youth in special classes [58].
	A randomized controlled trial of community-led interventions to prevent domestic violence in Aboriginal communities [59].
2. Provides evidence of difference or equivalence in effects across socially stratifying factors	A study of sex differences in platelet reactivity and cardiovascular and psychological response to mental stress in patients with stable ischemic heart disease [60].
	A study of the impact of an informed choice invitation on uptake of screening for diabetes in primary care assessed whether there were differences in effectiveness according to socioeconomic status [61].
3. Provides evidence of a gradient of effects across socially stratifying factors	A study of individual- and area-level unemployment influence smoking cessation among African Americans [62].
4. Provides no evidence about equity	Efficacy of the transillumination method for appropriate tracheal tube placement in small children: a randomized controlled trial [63].
	A comparison of cast materials for the treatment of congenital idiopathic clubfoot using the Ponseti method [64].