Generalizing from qualitative data: a case example using critical realist thematic analysis and mechanism mapping to evaluate a community health worker-led screening program in India.

ABSTRACT:

Background

A central goal of implementation science is to generate insights that allow evidence-based practices to be successfully applied across diverse settings. However, challenges often arise in preserving programs' effectiveness outside the context of their intervention development. We propose that qualitative data can inform generalizability via elucidating mechanisms of an intervention. Critical realist thematic analysis provides a framework for applying qualitative data to identify causal relationships. This approach can be used to develop mechanism maps, a tool rooted in policy that has been used in health systems interventions, to explain how and why interventions work. We illustrate use of these approaches through a case example of a community health worker (CHW)-deliver

SUBMITTER: Broderick K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11667965 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature