Testing the homogeneity of risk differences with sparse count data

Abstract

In this paper, we consider testing the homogeneity of risk differences in independent binomial distributions especially when data are sparse. We point out some drawback of existing tests in either controlling a nominal size or obtaining powers through theoretical and numerical studies. The proposed test is designed to avoid such drawback of existing tests. We present the asymptotic null distributions and asymptotic powers for our proposed test. We also provide numerical studies including simulations and real data examples showing the proposed test has reliable results compared to existing testing procedures.