Effective Interventions: Special Component Analysis of Impact
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Effective Interventions: Special Component Analysis of Impact
IRAS ID
158649
Contact name
Joanne Neale
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London
Research summary
This study will unpack recovery-focused interventions for drug and alcohol users in order to identify any special components or ‘active ingredients’ that seem to be producing positive outcomes for clients. To this end, we will utilize a well-known approach to evaluating complex social interventions, known as Realistic Evaluation. First, we will identify various intervention types (and examples of each intervention type) for in-depth study. These will be determined based on current literature, service and policy developments and discussions with a project advisory group. We envisage studying 4-5 novel intervention types and 2-3 examples of each intervention type (8-15 example interventions in total). The basic approach to studying each example intervention will be standardized. Stage 1- hypothesis formulation: we will review the literature, policy and service documents and consult stakeholders to generate preliminary hypotheses regarding what aspects of each example intervention work for whom and in what circumstances. Stage 2- data collection: we will collect a pragmatic combination of routine monitoring data and primary data (e.g. via interviews, questionnaires and observation) to test the hypotheses generated in Stage 1. Stage 3– data analyses: descriptive and more in-depth analyses of the collected data will be conducted to revise the hypotheses generated in Stage 1. This will produce more robust hypotheses, now underpinned by empirical data, regarding what works for whom in what circumstances. Stage 4– data synthesis: active ingredients for each example intervention that have potential generalizability to other populations and contexts will be identified and specified. Over time, we will combine the findings from each example intervention both within and across intervention types to identify and specify more generic active ingredients, so yielding greater understanding of how to develop and deliver successful recovery-oriented services and support for people experiencing addiction.
REC name
London - Camberwell St Giles Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/LO/1250
Date of REC Opinion
29 Jul 2014
REC opinion
Unfavourable Opinion