Balancing realist review outputs with the needs of policymakers and practitioners
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15127351 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ferdinand C Mukumbang (0000-0003-1441-2172, University of Washington, corresponding author), Sonja Klingberg (0000-0002-9330-7102, SAMRC/Wits Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit (DPHRU), University of the Witwatersrand , Private Bag X3, Johannesburg, Gauteng 2050), Bipin Adhikari (0000-0001-8981-3910, Mahidol-Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University , Bangkok 10400) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 40 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 97-104 |
| Publication date | 2025-01-11 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Health Policy and Planning (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0268-1080 • E-ISSN: 1460-2237 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/heapol/czae097 |
| PMID | 39436669 |
| OpenAlex | W4403638166 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
| References cited | 34 |
A realist review is a theory-driven approach to synthesizing evidence based on the realist philosophy of science. Realist reviews are conducted to provide the policy and practice community with a rich, detailed and practical understanding of complex social interventions that will likely be of much more use to them when planning and implementing programmes. Robust realist reviews must balance philosophical engagement, methodological rigour and relevance to practice. Nevertheless, they have been criticized for being more philosophically inclined and less methodologically robust, with findings that have little implication for practice. Using the philosophy/epistemology➔ methodology➔ theory➔ practice concept flow, we report how we balanced philosophical principles and practical insights in a recently conducted realist review on participatory practices that impact the benefits of non-communicable disease research and interventions in low- and middle-income countries. If realist reviews are not comprehensible enough for these practitioners, their utility and relevance may suffer from being limited to a specialist cohort of academics. We propose that realist review findings and outputs must be framed and communicated to meaningfully engage practitioners without undertaking translational efforts
Critical realism (philosophy of perception) · Economics · Engineering ethics · Epistemology · Management science · Political science · Psychological intervention · Realism · Relevance (law) · Rigour · Sociology · Community Development and Social Impact · Evaluation and Performance Assessment · Health Policy Implementation Science · Medicine · Nursing
Realist review - a new method of systematic review designed for complex policy interventions
Realist Synthesis for Public Health
Rameses II reporting standards for realist evaluations
Enhanced or hindered research benefits? A realist review of community engagement and participatory research practices for non-communicable disease prevention in low- and middle-income countries
A realist approach to thematic analysis
Promoting good policy for leadership and governance of health related rehabilitation
Realism and Social Science
Conducting focus groups in realist evaluation
A New Realistic Evaluation Analysis Method
Realist synthesis
Forms of realism
The contributions of scientific realism and critical realism to realist evaluation
Retroductive Theorizing
Social Theory and Social Structure
The craft of interviewing in realist evaluation
Middle-range realism
Examining the Application of Retroductive Theorizing in Realist-Informed Studies
Data Analysis and Synthesis Within a Realist Evaluation
Applying Meta-Theory to Qualitative and Mixed-Methods Research
| Unique citing works | 5 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 5 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 5 |