What is an N-of-1 trial?

An ‘N-of-1 trial’ is a way of learning about how different treatments compare for an individual. N-of-1 trials include just one participant, who must be able to change their treatments over time. This person receives one treatment at random and their subsequent outcomes are measured before they switch to a different treatment. There can be many treatment periods, and the order of treatments is decided at random. At the end, the person’s outcomes under each treatment are analysed to decide how the treatments compare.

For further reading, some literature on N-of-1 trials can be found here.