Evidence-appraisal glossary
Synthetic Control Method
A technique that builds a comparison for a single treated case, such as a country or hospital, by weighting several untreated units so their combined pre-treatment history matches the treated one. Divergence afterward estimates the treatment's effect.
Also called: synthetic control.
The synthetic control method is used when only one unit is treated and no single untreated unit is a good match. It constructs a weighted blend of control units that closely tracks the treated unit before the intervention, then treats the gap that opens up afterward as the estimated effect. It formalizes how the comparison is chosen and is common in policy evaluation, though it depends on a good pre-intervention fit and on having enough candidate comparison units.
Read the full Reading the Evidence blog.
This is a plain-language methodology definition for reading research. It is general education, not medical advice.