Computational issues in fitting joint frailty models for recurrent events with an associated terminal event

Abstract

We have shown, that getting reliable results from joint frailty models is not straightforward and users should be aware about the computational options between and within software packages. Based on our simulation study, we elaborate recommendations on these options. In addition, our provided SAS macros may encourage statistical practitioners to apply these models in clinical trials with recurrent event data and potentially informative drop-outs.