Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34631638›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in public health2021

Appraising the Implementation of Complexity Approaches Within the Public Health Sector in Scotland. An Assessment Framework for Pre-Implementation Policy Evaluation.

Claudia Zucca, Emily Long, Jeremy Hilton, Mark McCann

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in public health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
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.

Claudia ZuccaJheronimus Academy of Data Science, Tilburg University, Tilburg, Netherlands.
Emily LongMRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit (MRC), University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom.
Jeremy HiltonSchool of Defence and Security, Cranfield University at the Defence Academy of the UK, Cranfield, United Kingdom.
Mark McCannMRC/CSO Social and Public Health Sciences Unit (MRC), University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom.

Funding

Chief Scientist Office SPHSU11Chief Scientist Office SPHSU14Chief Scientist Office SPHSU16Chief Scientist Office SPHSU18Medical Research Council MC_PC_13027Medical Research Council MC_UU_00022/1Medical Research Council MC_UU_00022/3Medical Research Council MC_UU_12017/11Medical Research Council MC_UU_12017/14Medical Research Council MR/S015078/1
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Complexity approaches have gained international attention as potentially effective strategies to address population health challenges. In light of this, the Scottish government (Scot. Gov.) set the implementation of these approaches as the recommended practice for its public health sector organizations. This study evaluates the opportunity and feasibility of implementing complexity approaches in public health Scotland employees' everyday routine by employing a qualitative study that involves 20 stakeholders, representative of different organizations and roles. We made use of an assessment framework based on Soft Systems Methodology (SSm) and Normalization Process Theory (NPT) comprised of five phases: Phase One defines the boundaries, aims, and goals of the issue under study; Phase Two consists of data collection, drawing on the e-Health Implementation Toolkit (e-HIT); Phase Three involves short presentations and breakout group activities to provide information on the new policy; Phase Four employs system thinking tasks to structure debate and builds shared understanding among participants; Phase Five applies NPT to appraise the organizational position around complexity based on information from the preceding steps. We found two main obstacles to implementing complexity approaches: (1) a lack of a shared understanding of the key concepts in complexity and their practical implications; (2) stakeholders' fear of significant disruption to work routines and power relationships. We recommend addressing these issues with appropriate training and customization of goals and tools that may enable complexity approaches to succeed within the Scottish public health context. Our assessment framework allows the recognition of key mechanisms to support how Scotland's Public Health body can enhance the implementation of complexity approaches. The appraisal framework could be used to study early-stage policy implementation in other contexts.

Indexed as

Policy MakingPublic HealthHumansPolicyPublic SectorScotlandcomplexityhealth policynormalization process theoryorganizational behaviorpolicy makingpopulation health managementsoft system methodologysystems theory

Identifiers

PMID34631638
PMCPMC8492954

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.