Table 1 Definitions of realist concepts
Realist term | Operational definition |
|---|---|
Context | Aspects of the setting in which a programme is implemented which affect how mechanisms are triggered. This can include geographical, social, resource, participant, or other features [30, 32] |
Context–mechanism–outcome configurations (CMOCs) | A realist heuristic which enables an understanding of generative causation. This is typically constructed as “an outcome (O) of interest was generated by relevant mechanism(s) (M) being triggered in specific context(s) (C)” [30] |
Demi-regularity | “Semi-predictable patterns or pathways of programme functioning” [30] |
Mechanisms | “… mechanisms are a combination of resources offered by the social programme under study and stakeholders’ reasoning in response” [33] |
Programme theory | “A set of theoretical explanations or assumptions about how a particular programme, process or interventions is expected to work” (Maben J, Taylor C, Jagosh J, Carrieri D, Briscoe S, Klepacz N, et al: Care Under Pressure 2: Caring for the Carers – a realist review of interventions to minimise the incidence of mental ill-health in nurses, midwives and paramedics. Health and Social Care Delivery Research, forthcoming) |
Retroduction | “Identification of hidden causal forces that lie behind identified patterns or changes in those patterns” (Maben J, Taylor C, Jagosh J, Carrieri D, Briscoe S, Klepacz N, et al: Care Under Pressure 2: Caring for the Carers – a realist review of interventions to minimise the incidence of mental ill-health in nurses, midwives and paramedics. Health and Social Care Delivery Research, forthcoming) |
Outcomes | “Outcomes are any intended or unintended changes in individuals, teams or organisational culture generated by context-mechanism interactions” [34] |