General Class of Models for Recurrent Event Data

Parameter estimation for the general class of semiparametric models for recurrent event data proposed by Peña and Hollander (2004, ). The model incorporates an effective age function encoding the impact of interventions after each event occurrence, the effect of accumulating event occurrences, a link function for possibly time-dependent covariates, and optional gamma frailties to induce dependence among inter-event times. It also fits the extension for cancer relapses of González et al. (2005) . Estimation is performed by profile likelihood, with an expectation-maximization algorithm for the frailty model, and the package provides descriptive, diagnostic and predictive tools for the fitted models.