Examining health care intervention design
Lessons from the development of eight related malaria intervention studies
- Date:
- July 12, 2016
- Source:
- Taylor & Francis
- Summary:
- Rigorous evidence of ‘what works’ to improve health care is in demand, but methods for the development of interventions have not been scrutinized in the same ways as methods for evaluation. The article presents and examines intervention development processes of eight malaria health care interventions in East and West Africa. A case study approach was used to draw out experiences and insights from multidisciplinary teams who undertook to design and evaluate these studies.
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Rigorous evidence of 'what works' to improve health care is in demand, but methods for the development of interventions have not been scrutinized in the same ways as methods for evaluation. The article "Examining Intervention Design: Lessons from the Development of Eight Related Malaria Health Care Intervention Studies," presents and examines intervention development processes of eight malaria health care interventions in East and West Africa. The article appears in Health Systems & Reform published by Taylor & Francis.
A case study approach was used to draw out experiences and insights from multidisciplinary teams who undertook to design and evaluate these studies. Four steps appeared necessary for intervention design: (1) definition of scope, with reference to evaluation possibilities; (2) research to inform design, including evidence and theory reviews and empirical formative research; (3) intervention design, including consideration and selection of approaches and development of activities and materials; (4) refining and finalizing the intervention, incorporating piloting and pretesting. Alongside these steps, projects produced theories, explicitly or implicitly, about (i) intended pathways of change and (ii) how their intervention would be implemented.
The paper concludes that the work required to design interventions that meet and contribute to current standards of evidence should not be underestimated. Furthermore, the process should be recognized not only as technical, but the result of micro and macro social, political and economic contexts, which should be acknowledged and documented in order to infer generalizability. Reporting of interventions should go beyond descriptions of final intervention components or techniques, to encompass the development process. The role that evaluation possibilities play in intervention design should be brought to the fore in debates over health care improvement.
Story Source:
Materials provided by Taylor & Francis. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
Journal Reference:
- Clare I.R. Chandler, Helen Burchett, Louise Boyle, Olivia Achonduh, Anthony Mbonye, Deborah DiLiberto, Hugh Reyburn, Obinna Onwujekwe, Ane Haaland, Arantxa Roca-Feltrer, Frank Baiden, Wilfred F. Mbacham, Richard Ndyomugyenyi, Florence Nankya, Lindsay Mangham-Jefferies, Sian Clarke, Hilda Mbakilwa, Joanna Reynolds, Sham Lal, Toby Leslie, Catherine Maiteki-Sebuguzi, Jayne Webster, Pascal Magnussen, Evelyn Ansah, Kristian S. Hansen, Eleanor Hutchinson, Bonnie Cundill, Shunmay Yeung, David Schellenberg, Sarah G. Staedke, Virginia Wiseman, David G. Lalloo, Christopher J.M. Whitty. Examining intervention design: lessons from the development of eight related malaria health care intervention studies. Health Systems & Reform, 2016; 00 DOI: 10.1080/23288604.2016.1179086
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