Reference Based Multiple Imputation (`rbmi`)

Overview

The rbmi package is used for the imputation of missing data in clinical trials with continuous multivariate normal longitudinal outcomes. It supports imputation under a missing at random (MAR) assumption, reference-based imputation methods, and delta adjustments (as required for sensitivity analysis such as tipping point analyses). The package implements both Bayesian and approximate Bayesian multiple imputation combined with Rubin’s rules for inference, and frequentist conditional mean imputation combined with (jackknife or bootstrap) resampling.

Installation

The package can be installed directly from CRAN via:

install.packages("rbmi")

Note that the usage of Bayesian multiple imputation requires the installation of the suggested package rstan.

install.packages("rstan")

Usage

The package is designed around its 4 core functions:

draws() - Fits multiple imputation models
impute() - Imputes multiple datasets
analyse() - Analyses multiple datasets
pool() - Pools multiple results into a single statistic

The basic usage of these core functions is described in the quickstart vignette:

vignette(topic = "quickstart", package = "rbmi")

Validation

For clarification on the current validation status of rbmi please see the FAQ vignette.

Support