Skip to main content
. 2018 Apr 13;72(8):673–678. doi: 10.1136/jech-2017-210106

Table 1.

Health-related studies using synthetic control methodology

Date First author (reference) Exposure Outcome Treated unit(s) Donor pool
Health finance and health systems reform
2016 Ryan4 Pay for performance Mortality UK Other high-income countries
2015 Mas (unpublished) Healthcare integration Healthcare efficiency measures Spanish integrated healthcare unit Spanish non-integrated healthcare units
2015 Lepine5 User fee removal Healthcare utilisation Treated Zambian regions Untreated Zambian regions
2015 Kreif6 Pay for performance Risk adjusted mortality Treated UK hospitals Untreated UK hospitals
2015 Machado7 Levels of health insurance Infertility levels States with strong infertility mandates States with weak infertility mandates
2015 Roy8 Health reform Sources of health insurance Insured Massachusetts Population Uninsured Massachusetts population
2014 Courtemanche9 Levels of health insurance Self-reported health Massachusetts Untreated US states
2014 Dunn10 Health reform Physician payments Massachusetts Untreated US states
2014 Tuzemen11 Health reform Non-insurance rate Massachusetts Untreated US states
2013 Lo12 Income levels Substitution of public/private insurance Illinois Untreated US states
Industry regulation
2016 Quast13 Registration of sex workers Incidence of sexually transmitted disease Tijuana, Mexico Untreated Mexican regions
2015 Restrepo14 Trans fat ban Heart disease mortality Treated counties in New York Untreated counties in New York
2014 Sampaio15 Mobile phone ban Road accidents New York state Untreated US states
2014 Restrepo16 Trans fat ban Heart disease mortality Denmark Other OECD countries
2014 Green17 Alcohol licencing hours Road accidents England and Wales Scottish regions
2014 Wang18 Pasteurisation of milk Child mortality Treated US cities Untreated US cities
2014 Cunningham19 Decriminalisation of indoor prostitution Incidence of sexually transmitted disease Rhode Island, USA Untreated US states/cities
Taxation policy
2016 Berardi20 Tax on sugary drinks Price of affected drink categories Prices of sugary drinks in France Other drink categories in France
2016 Grogger21 Tax on sugary drinks Price of other drink categories Prices of sugary drinks in Mexico Other drink categories in Mexico
2016 Chelwa22 Tax on cigarettes Cigarette sales South Africa Untreated low-income and middle-income countries
2015 Bilgel23 Tax breaks for organ donors Live organ donations New York State Untreated US states
2015 Fletcher24 Tax on sugary drinks Changes in BMI Arkansas, Ohio Untreated US states
2010 Abadie2 Tax on cigarettes Cigarette sales California Untreated US states
Legal changes
2015 Zabinski25 Medical malpractice liability Patient safety measures Texas, Florida, Illinois, South Carolina, Georgia Untreated US states
2015 Crifasi26 Hand gun laws Suicide rates Connecticut, Missouri Untreated US states
2015 Cunningham27 Drug laws Drug seizures Mississippi Untreated US states
2015 Powell28 Legalisation of marijuana Overdoses from painkillers US states with medical marijuana law US states without medical marijuana law
Development and barriers to development
2015 Alavuotunki29 General Budget Support (GBS) Neonatal mortality Countries in receipt of GBS Countries from the region of the treated country not in receipt of GBS
2015 Karlsson30 HIV prevalence Demographic outcomes Countries in Africa with high HIV prevalence Countries in Africa with low HIV prevalence
2014 Pereda31 Climate change Dengue risk Brazilian cities with high dengue risk Brazilian cities with low dengue risk
2014 Peiters32 Political transition Child mortality Countries which became democratic Countries that remained autocratic
Nutrition interventions
2015 Qian33 School food programme BMI Treated schools in Arkansas, US Untreated schools in Arkansas, USA
2014 Bauhoff34 School food programme BMI Treated school districts in California, US Untreated school district in California, USA
2013 Kiesel35 Better food labelling Product sales Treated US supermarkets Untreated US supermarkets
Welfare reforms
2016 Chung36 Money transfer Birth weights Alaska Untreated US states
2016 Oloomi37 Paid family leave Infant health outcomes California Untreated US states
2016 Basu38 Welfare reforms Healthcare utilisation Single mothers in the USA Married mothers and single women in the USA
2015 Grossman39 Urban empowerment zones (UEZs) Fertility and mental health outcomes UEZ in Chicago, New York and Philadephia Unsuccessful applicants for UEZ status in US cities

BMI, body mass index; OECD, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.