Bradford Hill Criteria
The Bradford Hill Criteria are a set of nine factors used to help determine if a relationship between a potential cause and an effect is strong enough to be considered causal. These criteria include strength, consistency, specificity, temporality, biological gradient, plausibility, coherence, experiment, and analogy. In essence, they guide researchers in assessing whether an observed association—like between a risk factor and a disease—is likely to be due to a direct cause rather than coincidence or other influences. They are essential in fields like public health to establish effective interventions and policy decisions.
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The Bradford Hill criteria are a set of nine principles used to determine if a cause-and-effect relationship exists between a factor and a health outcome. These criteria include strength (how strong the association is), consistency (repeated findings across studies), specificity (a specific cause leading to a specific effect), temporality (the cause must precede the effect), biological gradient (more exposure leads to more effect), plausibility (the relationship makes sense biologically), coherence (the relationship aligns with existing knowledge), experiment (evidence from experiments), and analogy (similar situations support the conclusion). They help researchers assess evidence for causation in health studies.