Integration of evidence into Theory of Change frameworks in the healthcare sector: A rapid systematic review.

<h4>Background</h4>Theory of Change (ToC) has become an established approach to design and evaluate interventions. While ToC should-in line with the growing international focus on evidence-informed health decision-making-consider explicit approaches to incorporate evidence, there is limi...

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Main Authors: Davi Mamblona Marques Romão, Cecilia Setti, Leo Heikiti Maeda Arruda, Roberta Crevelário de Melo, Bruna Carolina de Araujo, Audrey R Tan, Peter Nichols DeMaio, Tanja Kuchenmüller
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2023-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0282808&type=printable
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author Davi Mamblona Marques Romão
Cecilia Setti
Leo Heikiti Maeda Arruda
Roberta Crevelário de Melo
Bruna Carolina de Araujo
Audrey R Tan
Peter Nichols DeMaio
Tanja Kuchenmüller
author_facet Davi Mamblona Marques Romão
Cecilia Setti
Leo Heikiti Maeda Arruda
Roberta Crevelário de Melo
Bruna Carolina de Araujo
Audrey R Tan
Peter Nichols DeMaio
Tanja Kuchenmüller
author_sort Davi Mamblona Marques Romão
collection DOAJ
description <h4>Background</h4>Theory of Change (ToC) has become an established approach to design and evaluate interventions. While ToC should-in line with the growing international focus on evidence-informed health decision-making-consider explicit approaches to incorporate evidence, there is limited guidance on how this should be done. This rapid review aims to identify and synthesize the available literature on how to systematically use research evidence when developing or adapting ToCs in the health sector.<h4>Methods</h4>A rapid review methodology using a systematic approach, was designed. Eight electronic databases were consulted to search for peer-reviewed and gray publications detailing tools, methods, and recommendations promoting the systematic integration of research evidence in ToCs. The included studies were compared, and the findings summarized qualitatively into themes to identify key principles, stages, and procedures, guiding the systematic integration of research evidence when developing or revising a ToC.<h4>Results</h4>This review included 18 studies. The main sources from which evidence was retrieved in the ToC development process were institutional data, literature searches, and stakeholder consultation. There was a variety of ways of finding and using evidence in ToC. Firstly, the review provided an overview of existing definitions of ToC, methods applied in ToC development and the related ToC stages. Secondly, a typology of 7 stages relevant for evidence integration into ToCs was developed, outlining the types of evidence and research methods the included studies applied for each of the proposed stages.<h4>Conclusion</h4>This rapid review adds to the existing literature in two ways. First, it provides an up-to-date and comprehensive review of the existing methods for incorporating evidence into ToC development in the health sector. Second, it offers a new typology guiding any future endeavors of incorporating evidence into ToCs.
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spelling doaj-art-d0877451115e4507ab9b8e6d614da2302025-01-21T05:31:28ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032023-01-01183e028280810.1371/journal.pone.0282808Integration of evidence into Theory of Change frameworks in the healthcare sector: A rapid systematic review.Davi Mamblona Marques RomãoCecilia SettiLeo Heikiti Maeda ArrudaRoberta Crevelário de MeloBruna Carolina de AraujoAudrey R TanPeter Nichols DeMaioTanja Kuchenmüller<h4>Background</h4>Theory of Change (ToC) has become an established approach to design and evaluate interventions. While ToC should-in line with the growing international focus on evidence-informed health decision-making-consider explicit approaches to incorporate evidence, there is limited guidance on how this should be done. This rapid review aims to identify and synthesize the available literature on how to systematically use research evidence when developing or adapting ToCs in the health sector.<h4>Methods</h4>A rapid review methodology using a systematic approach, was designed. Eight electronic databases were consulted to search for peer-reviewed and gray publications detailing tools, methods, and recommendations promoting the systematic integration of research evidence in ToCs. The included studies were compared, and the findings summarized qualitatively into themes to identify key principles, stages, and procedures, guiding the systematic integration of research evidence when developing or revising a ToC.<h4>Results</h4>This review included 18 studies. The main sources from which evidence was retrieved in the ToC development process were institutional data, literature searches, and stakeholder consultation. There was a variety of ways of finding and using evidence in ToC. Firstly, the review provided an overview of existing definitions of ToC, methods applied in ToC development and the related ToC stages. Secondly, a typology of 7 stages relevant for evidence integration into ToCs was developed, outlining the types of evidence and research methods the included studies applied for each of the proposed stages.<h4>Conclusion</h4>This rapid review adds to the existing literature in two ways. First, it provides an up-to-date and comprehensive review of the existing methods for incorporating evidence into ToC development in the health sector. Second, it offers a new typology guiding any future endeavors of incorporating evidence into ToCs.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0282808&type=printable
spellingShingle Davi Mamblona Marques Romão
Cecilia Setti
Leo Heikiti Maeda Arruda
Roberta Crevelário de Melo
Bruna Carolina de Araujo
Audrey R Tan
Peter Nichols DeMaio
Tanja Kuchenmüller
Integration of evidence into Theory of Change frameworks in the healthcare sector: A rapid systematic review.
PLoS ONE
title Integration of evidence into Theory of Change frameworks in the healthcare sector: A rapid systematic review.
title_full Integration of evidence into Theory of Change frameworks in the healthcare sector: A rapid systematic review.
title_fullStr Integration of evidence into Theory of Change frameworks in the healthcare sector: A rapid systematic review.
title_full_unstemmed Integration of evidence into Theory of Change frameworks in the healthcare sector: A rapid systematic review.
title_short Integration of evidence into Theory of Change frameworks in the healthcare sector: A rapid systematic review.
title_sort integration of evidence into theory of change frameworks in the healthcare sector a rapid systematic review
url https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0282808&type=printable
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