ArticleBMC health services research2017
Acceptability of healthcare interventions: an overview of reviews and development of a theoretical framework.
Article in BMC health services research, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 28 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 2,105 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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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.
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.
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Who cites it
2,105 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
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- Women's Experiences of Screening and Assessment of Mental Health Problems in the Perinatal Period: A Systematic Review and Meta-synthesis.Clinical child and family psychology review · 2026Pooled it
- Psychosocial implications, acceptability and ethics of screening for paediatric type 1 diabetes: a systematic review and mixed methods evidence synthesis.Diabetologia · 2026Pooled it
- Actual use, intention to use, and user attitudes toward mobile health applications for coronary heart disease self-management: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC medical informatics and decision making · 2026Pooled it
- Feasibility and acceptability of skills training in affective recovery (STAR) video and TextSTAR text message program for recent sexual assault survivors.European journal of psychotraumatology · 2026Trial
- 'Life has become a lot easier'-the acceptability of the treatable traits clinic experience to people with bronchiectasis.Annals of medicine · 2026Trial
- Acceptability of alcohol-based hand rub during neonatal care in rural Ugandan households: a qualitative study nested within the BabyGel trial.Global health action · 2026Trial
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- Dissemination of trial results to study participants in Cambodia, Ethiopia and Pakistan: a qualitative study.BMJ open · 2026Trial
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- Adolescent Acceptability of School and Home Micronutrient Supplementation and Nutrition Curriculum in Mozambique.Maternal & child nutrition · 2026Trial
- Pilot test of an adapted relational savoring intervention for Latine-serving community health workers.Journal of counseling psychology · 2026Trial
- NegotiAge-An AI-Based Caregiver Negotiation Training: Results From the Multiphase Optimization Strategy (MOST) Trial.Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · 2026Trial
- Acceptability and Fidelity of a Cognitive Rehabilitation Intervention During and After Intensive Care: A Feasibility Evaluation.Nursing in critical care · 2026Trial
- Web-Based Gamified Auditory-Cognitive Dual-Task Training for Older Adults With Age-Related Hearing Loss: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR aging · 2026Trial
- Optimizing Digital Cardiac Rehabilitation Using the Multiphase Optimization Strategy: Mixed Methods Feasibility Study.JMIR formative research · 2026Trial
2,045 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIt is increasingly acknowledged that 'acceptability' should be considered when designing, evaluating and implementing healthcare interventions. However, the published literature offers little guidance on how to define or assess acceptability. The purpose of this study was to develop a multi-construct theoretical framework of acceptability of healthcare interventions that can be applied to assess prospective (i.e. anticipated) and retrospective (i.e. experienced) acceptability from the perspective of intervention delivers and recipients.
methodsTwo methods were used to select the component constructs of acceptability. 1) An overview of reviews was conducted to identify systematic reviews that claim to define, theorise or measure acceptability of healthcare interventions. 2) Principles of inductive and deductive reasoning were applied to theorise the concept of acceptability and develop a theoretical framework. Steps included (1) defining acceptability; (2) describing its properties and scope and (3) identifying component constructs and empirical indicators.
resultsFrom the 43 reviews included in the overview, none explicitly theorised or defined acceptability. Measures used to assess acceptability focused on behaviour (e.g. dropout rates) (23 reviews), affect (i.e. feelings) (5 reviews), cognition (i.e. perceptions) (7 reviews) or a combination of these (8 reviews). From the methods described above we propose a definition: Acceptability is a multi-faceted construct that reflects the extent to which people delivering or receiving a healthcare intervention consider it to be appropriate, based on anticipated or experienced cognitive and emotional responses to the intervention. The theoretical framework of acceptability (TFA) consists of seven component constructs: affective attitude, burden, perceived effectiveness, ethicality, intervention coherence, opportunity costs, and self-efficacy.
conclusionDespite frequent claims that healthcare interventions have assessed acceptability, it is evident that acceptability research could be more robust. The proposed definition of acceptability and the TFA can inform assessment tools and evaluations of the acceptability of new or existing interventions.
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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.