Developing Initial Middle Range Theories in Realist Evaluation: A Case of an Organisational Intervention

Details

• Personal Author:
  Axtell C ; Nielson K ; Peters SE ; Roodbari H ; Sorensen, Glorian
• Description:
  (1) Background: Realist evaluation is a promising approach for evaluating organisational interventions. Crucial to realist evaluation is the development and testing of middle range theories (MRTs). MRTs are programme theories that outline how the intervention mechanisms work in a specific context to bring about certain outcomes. To the best of our knowledge, no organisational intervention study has yet developed initial MRTs. This study aimed to develop initial MRTs based on qualitative evidence from the development phase of an organisational intervention in a large multi-national organisation, the US food service industry. (2) Methods: Data were collected through 20 semi-structured interviews with the organisation's managers, five focus groups with a total of 30 employees, and five worksite observations. Template analysis was used to analyse data. (3) Results: Four initial MRTs were developed based on four mechanisms of participation, leadership commitment, communication, and tailoring the intervention to fit the organisational context to formulate 'what may work for whom in which circumstances?' in organisational interventions; (4) Conclusions: Our findings provide insights into 'how' and 'which' initial MRTs can be developed in organisational interventions. Description provided by NIOSH
• Subjects:
  • Food-Processing Industry
  • Men
  • Occupational Health
  • Safety
  • Women
• Keywords:
  • Intervention
  • Food processing industry
  • Humans
  • Men
  • Women
  • Author Keywords: realist evaluation
  • organisational interventions
  • context-mechanism-utcome configuration
  • middle range theory
  • mechanism
• ISSN:
  1660-4601
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; OSHA Region 1
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  18
• Issue:
  16
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20063370
• Citation:
  Int J Environ Res Public Health 2021 Aug; 18(16):8360
• Contact Point Address:
  Hamid Roodbari, Institute for Work Psychology, Sheffield University Management School, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
• Email:
  odbari@sheffield.ac.uk
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2021
• Performing Organization:
  Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20160801
• Source Full Name:
  International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• End Date:
  20200731
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/226445/cdc_226445_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.78 MB]
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e22275b4761306d824962de048ff10f56da701229ad28bcd55346185f44aee9c3548d082162c8cfbf03fcd2e550631b5fba483c9c4b5aee2cb66f7795eac2864