Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27153985›Full record

SynthesisImplementation science : IS2016

Using theory of change to design and evaluate public health interventions: a systematic review.

Erica Breuer, Lucy Lee, Mary De Silva, Crick Lund

Registry-linked trialAbstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Implementation science : IS, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04356274 (Participatory System Dynamics vs Audit and Feedback), which is not on this map. Cited by 196 papers, 15 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
196citing papers in PubMed, 15 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT04356274 naenrolling by invitationnot on this mapstarted 2019, after this paper: background citation

Participatory System Dynamics vs Audit and Feedback: A Cluster Randomized Trial of Mechanisms of Implementation Change to Expand Reach of Evidence-based Addiction and Mental Health Care

TypeinterventionalSponsorPalo Alto Veterans Institute for ResearchRan2019 to 2027Enrolled720ConditionsPTSD, Depression, Alcohol Use Disorder, Opioid Use DisorderArmsParticipatory System Dynamics (PSD), Audit and Feedback (AF)
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

196 citing papers in PubMed, 15 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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  13. Guideline
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  16. Trial
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  18. Palliative care development as a solution to mitigate the human crisis of cancer in low- and middle-income countries: a theory of change approach.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026
    Article
  19. Review
  20. Article

136 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Erica BreuerAlan J. Flisher Centre for Public Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, 46 Sawkins Road, Rondebosch, 7700, Cape Town, South Africa. erica.breuer@uct.ac.za.
Lucy LeeCentre for Global Mental Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK.
Mary De SilvaCentre for Global Mental Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London, WC1E 7HT, UK.
Crick LundAlan J. Flisher Centre for Public Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town, 46 Sawkins Road, Rondebosch, 7700, Cape Town, South Africa.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDespite the increasing popularity of the theory of change (ToC) approach, little is known about the extent to which ToC has been used in the design and evaluation of public health interventions. This review aims to determine how ToCs have been developed and used in the development and evaluation of public health interventions globally.

methodsWe searched for papers reporting the use of "theory of change" in the development or evaluation of public health interventions in databases of peer-reviewed journal articles such as Scopus, Pubmed, PsychInfo, grey literature databases, Google and websites of development funders. We included papers of any date, language or study design. Both abstracts and full text papers were double screened. Data were extracted and narratively and quantitatively summarised.

resultsA total of 62 papers were included in the review. Forty-nine (79 %) described the development of ToC, 18 (29 %) described the use of ToC in the development of the intervention and 49 (79 %) described the use of ToC in the evaluation of the intervention. Although a large number of papers were included in the review, their descriptions of the ToC development and use in intervention design and evaluation lacked detail.

conclusionsThe use of the ToC approach is widespread in the public health literature. Clear reporting of the ToC process and outputs is important to strengthen the body of literature on practical application of ToC in order to develop our understanding of the benefits and advantages of using ToC. We also propose a checklist for reporting on the use of ToC to ensure transparent reporting and recommend that our checklist is used and refined by authors reporting the ToC approach.

Indexed as

Research DesignHealth Plan ImplementationHumansPublic HealthEvaluationIntervention developmentProgramme theoryPublic healthSystematic reviewTheory of change

Identifiers

PMID27153985
PMCPMC4859947

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.