Georgia Papadogeorgou

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  Adjusting for Unmeasured Spatial Confounding with Distance Adjusted Propensity Score Matching
  Georgia Papadogeorgou
  Propensity score matching is a common tool for adjusting for observed confounding in observational studies, but is known to have limitations in the presence of unmeasured confounding. In many settings, researchers are confronted with spatially-indexed data where the relative locations of the observational units may serve as a useful proxy for unmeasured confounding that varies according to a spatial pattern. We develop a new method, termed distance adjusted propensity score matching (DAPSm) that incorporates information on units’ spatial proximity into a propensity score matching procedure. DAPSm provides a framework for augmenting a “standard� propensity score analysis with information on spatial proximity and provides a transparent and principled way to assess the relative trade-offs of prioritizing observed confounding adjustment versus spatial proximity adjustment. The method is motivated by and applied to a comparative effectiveness investigation of power plant emission reduction technologies designed to reduce population exposure to ambient ozone pollution.