{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,26]],"date-time":"2026-09-26T06:42:32Z","timestamp":1790404952306,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"Oxford University Press (OUP)","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,16]],"date-time":"2024-12-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1734307200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/pages\/standard-publication-reuse-rights"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000002","name":"National Institutes of Health","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["K99DA057487"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["K99DA057487"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000002","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000002","name":"National Institutes of Health","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["R01HL168202"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["R01HL168202"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000002","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2024,12,16]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n               <jats:p>Observational studies play an increasingly important role in estimating causal effects of a treatment or an exposure, especially with the growing availability of routinely collected real-world data. To facilitate drawing causal inference from observational data, we introduce a conceptual framework centered around \u201cfour targets\u201d\u2014target estimand, target population, target trial, and target validity. We illustrate the utility of our proposed \u201cfour targets\u201d framework with the example of buprenorphine dosing for treating opioid use disorder, explaining the rationale and process for employing the framework to guide causal thinking from observational data. The \u201cfour targets\u201d framework is beneficial for those new to epidemiologic research, enabling them to grasp fundamental concepts and acquire the skills necessary for drawing reliable causal inferences from observational data.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1093\/ije\/dyaf003","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,27]],"date-time":"2025-01-27T03:53:57Z","timestamp":1737950037000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":11,"title":["Four targets: an enhanced framework for guiding causal inference from observational data"],"prefix":"10.1093","volume":"54","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7908-2517","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Haidong","family":"Lu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine , New Haven, CT,","place":["United States"]},{"name":"Program in Addiction Medicine, Yale School of Medicine , New Haven, CT,","place":["United 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Kingdom"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Christopher T","family":"Rentsch","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine , New Haven, CT,","place":["United States"]},{"name":"Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine , London,","place":["United Kingdom"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"David A","family":"Fiellin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine , New Haven, CT,","place":["United States"]},{"name":"Program in Addiction Medicine, Yale School of Medicine , New Haven, CT,","place":["United States"]},{"name":"Department of Emergency Medicine, Yale School of Medicine , New Haven, CT,","place":["United States"]},{"name":"Department of Health Policy and Management, Yale School of Public Health , New Haven, CT,","place":["United 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