Developing and testing intervention theory by incorporating a views synthesis into a qualitative comparative analysis of intervention effectiveness

Qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) was originally developed as a tool for cross‐national comparisons in macrosociology, but its use in evaluation and evidence synthesis of complex interventions is rapidly developing. QCA is theory‐driven and relies on Boolean logic to identify pathways to an out...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Research synthesis methods 2019-09, Vol.10 (3), p.389-397
Main Authors: Melendez‐Torres, G.J., Sutcliffe, Katy, Burchett, Helen E.D., Rees, Rebecca, Thomas, James
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adults
Attitudes
Behavior
Body Weight
Boolean algebra
Comparative Analysis
Comparative Effectiveness Research
Data analysis
Dietetics
Dredging
Evidence
Fuzzy Logic
Health Behavior
Health Promotion
Humans
Internationality
Intervention
intervention theory
Logical Thinking
Obesity - prevention & control
Obesity - therapy
Outcomes of Treatment
Participatory Research
Patient Participation
Physical Activities
Qualitative analysis
qualitative comparative analysis
qualitative meta‐synthesis
Qualitative Research
Regression Analysis
Research Design
Research Methodology
Risk
Sociology
Synthesis
systematic review
Systematic Reviews as Topic
Taxonomy
Weight Reduction Programs
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) was originally developed as a tool for cross‐national comparisons in macrosociology, but its use in evaluation and evidence synthesis of complex interventions is rapidly developing. QCA is theory‐driven and relies on Boolean logic to identify pathways to an outcome (eg, is the intervention effective or not?). We use the example of two linked systematic reviews on weight management programs (WMPs) for adults—one focusing on user views (a “views synthesis”) and one focusing on the effectiveness of WMPs incorporating dietary and physical activity—to demonstrate how a synthesis of user views can supply a working theory to structure a QCA. We discuss how a views synthesis is especially apt to supply this working theory because user views can (a) represent a “middle‐range theory” of the intervention; (b) bring a participatory, democratic perspective; and (c) provide an idiographic understanding of how the intervention works that external taxonomies may not be able to furnish. We then discuss the practical role that the views synthesis played in our QCA examining pathways to effectiveness: (a) by suggesting specific intervention features and sharpening the focus on the most salient features to be examined, (b) by supporting interpretation of findings, and (c) by bounding data analysis to prevent data dredging.
ISSN:1759-2879
1759-2887
DOI:10.1002/jrsm.1341