Theory-driven evaluation

Birckmayer and Weiss (2000) present a review of 6 health promotion studies based on theory driven evaluation.

Mercier et al. (2000) carried out a theory-driven evaluation of drop-in activities at a YMCA Youth Center and present a clear methodology to develop and test the programme theory

Grocott et al. (2002) is an example of how TDE was applied to patient care, in this case the palliative management of malignant wounds.

Rodriguez, E. & Mead, J. (1997) describe a retrospective theory driven program evaluation to assess the complex processes and dynamics underlying the program and which influence its outcomes. They show how TDE examines the black box of processes and mechanisms and provides insights in what went wrong.

Van Belle and colleagues present a 7 step method they designed to carry out a theory-driven evaluation of an adolescent reproductive health project in West-Africa.

 

 

 

Theories of change

Judge and Bauld (2001) and Sullivan et al. (2002) present findings of the Theory of Change approach in an assessment of Health Action Zones in England.

MacKenzie and Blamey (2005) discuss the assessment of the Scottish Health Demonstration projects in child health and heart disease prevention

Douglas et al. (2010) develop a Theory of Change protocol for the evaluation of smoking cessation programmes for pregnant women and young people.

Realist evaluation

Evans and Killoran (2000) present the evaluation of a Health Education Authority’s Integrated Purchasing Programme and specifically of demonstration projects testing partnerships to tackle health inequalities.

Byng et al. (2005) and Byng et al. (2008) applied realist evaluation principles to evaluate a mental health programme in the NHS.

Leone (2008) presents an overview of how a MRT for an intervention can be derived from an analysis of the programme, how this MRT is translated into research questions and how analysis is done.

Ridde & Guichard (2011) focus on the mechanisms that underlie programmes to fight social inequalities in France.

Ogrinc and Batalden (2009) develop a practical evaluation framework to assess teaching programmes on improvement of care on the basis of realist evaluation principles.

Greenhalgh et al. (2009) apply realist evaluation in the assessment of the Modernisation Initiative, which aimed at whole-scale transformation in stroke, kidney and sexual health services in London.

Pommier et al. (2010) present a research protocol for evaluation of health promotion in schools.

 

 

Blaise and colleagues explain how realist evaluation compares with other methods used in health promotion research. This is one of the few texts in French on realist evaluation.

Manzano-Santaella applied realist evaluation to a policy in the English NHS that imposed fines for hospital discharges.

 

Realist evaluation in low and middle-income countries

There are even fewer publications of TD inquiry in health systems research in low and middle-income countries:

 

Blaise and Kegels (2004) focus on quality management, comparing European with African sites.

Maluka and colleagues carried out a realist evaluation of the introduction of the accountability for reasonableness framework at a rural district in Tanzania.

Marchal et al. (2010) present a realist case study of human resource management in Ghana and discuss the main methodological challenges of realist evaluation.

Marchal et al. 2010b analyse how a hospital management team succeeded in reviving an ailing district hospital in Ghana using the realist evaluation approach.

 

 

Realist synthesis

Connelly et al. (2007) present a realist synthesis of controlled trials of childhood obesity prevention programmes.

Greenhalgh et al. (2007) enhance the analysis of findings of a Cochrane review by applying a realist analysis in order to “determine the aspects that determine success and failure in various situations.”

Dieleman et al. (2009) present a realist synthesis of evidence on management of the health workforce in low- and middle-income countries.

Wong et al. (2010) carried out a realist synthesis of internet-based medical education, presenting a clear methodology section.

Kane et al. (2010) reviewed human resources management interventions aimed at improving community health workers¹ performance in IMCI in Low and Middle Income countries.

Michielsen et al.present the design and results of a realist synthesis of Indian community health insurance schemes on the basis of Hirschman¹s exit-voice theory.

 

 

 

 

Bridging realist synthesis and evaluation

Rycroft-Malone et al. (2010) present the development of a protocol for evaluation of protocol-based care in nursing that combines elements of realist synthesis with realist evaluation.

Robert et al. (2010) focus on user fees abolition policies in Africa and present a protocol that similarly combines realist synthesis with realist evaluation.

Astbury & Leeuw provide an excellent introduction of the main concepts of theory-driven evaluation and specifically focus on the issue of mechanism