Counterfactual in Nursing Research

The counterfactual or potential outcome model has become increasingly standard for causal inference in epidemiological, medical and nursing studies (M. Hofler 2005). In quantitative research, scholars attempt to arrive at valid counterfactuals by emulating an experimental design. However, because of treatments that are impossible to manipulate and the non-random assignment of data to treatment and control groups, causal statements are often based on invalid counterfactuals.