@article{CHEN2026, 
author = {Jiangyun CHEN and Chaoyue WANG and Meng WANG and Yeqing ZHAN and Duqiao LI and Yifei WANG and Xueying CHEN and Yuling CHEN and Na REN},
title = {Origins, Applications, and Challenges of Factorial Design in Implementation Science},
year = {2026},
journal = {Medical Journal of Peking Union Medical College Hospital},
volume = {17},
number = {4},
pages = {1148-1157},
keywords = {factorial design, implementation science, implementation research, interaction effects},
url = {https://www.sciopen.com/article/10.12290/xhyxzz.2026-0532},
doi = {10.12290/xhyxzz.2026-0532},
abstract = {Factorial design is an important method for optimizing complex strategies in implementation science. This paper systematically elucidates the origin, types, and core concepts of the factorial design, and then use a brief smoking cessation intervention project as an example to illustrate its specific applications in identifying key factors and testing interactions. Factorial design has the following typical advantages: it can test synergistic and antagonistic effects between factors, provide effect estimates that are broadly valid across the experimental conditions, and offer high statistical efficiency. At the same time, it also has certain limitations, including that its complexity is positively correlated with the number of factors, the need for large sample sizes to detect interactions, the potential for insufficient acceptability of some strategy combinations due to ethical concerns or participant burden, and the complexity of the analytical methods required. In future research, its application should be further optimized by appropriately controlling the number of factors, clearly defining research objectives, and evaluating intervention acceptability, in order to promote the development of precision implementation science.}
}