ReviewQualitative health research2022
Understanding Causation in Healthcare: An Introduction to Critical Realism.
Review in Qualitative health research, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers.
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.
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.
Who cites it
25 citing papers in PubMed.
- Exploration of Physiotherapists' Understanding and Application of Safety Netting Procedures in France-A Qualitative Study.Musculoskeletal care · 2026Article
- Exploring factors affecting the use of blended diets for children and young people in health, education and social care settings in the UK: The protocol for a realist mixed methods study.Nutrition and health · 2026Article
- When Antibiotics Are Refused: A Qualitative Study of Patient-Provider Communication, Trust, and Reported or Anticipated Responses in Jordan.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Cultural and Structural Influences on Shared Decision-Making in the Care of Critically Ill Patients with Stroke in China: A Critical Realist Qualitative Study.Neurocritical care · 2026Article
- Climate conscious pharmacy practice: a qualitative interview study with pharmacists in the context of respiratory health care.International journal of clinical pharmacy · 2026Article
- Determinants of sustainable quality improvement for operating room clean air systems: a two-phase sequential qualitative study in Dutch hospitals.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Identifying the training needs of Australian primary health professionals to support early childhood obesity prevention: a mixed methods study.Primary health care research & development · 2026Article
- 'Not Angels but Humans' An Exploratory Qualitative Study of Female Nurses With Lived Experience of Self-Harm and Suicidal Behaviours.Journal of advanced nursing · 2026Article
- Development and psychometric validation of a novel, self-report visual processing questionnaire (ViPro-SR) for neurodivergent adults.Current psychology (New Brunswick, N.J.) · 2026Article
- Exploring the Mechanisms of Digital Health Technology-Driven Exercise During Pregnancy: A Realist Review.International journal of women's health · 2026Review
- Exploring How People With Intellectual Disabilities Experience the Therapeutic Alliance: A 'Best Fit' Framework Analysis Using Bordin's Model.Journal of applied research in intellectual disabilities : JARID · 2026Review
- Regulating with food: a qualitative study of Neurodivergent experiences in adults with binge eating disorder.Journal of eating disorders · 2025Article
- Bingeing as an ADHD-related strategy: a qualitative study of experiences of Neurodivergent and potentially Neurodivergent adults with bulimic-spectrum eating disorders.Eating and weight disorders : EWD · 2025Article
- Managing allergy-related COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy: A multi-methods analysis of practitioner notes and referral outcomes.Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics · 2025Article
- Article
- Entrustment of student supervision to GP trainees - a qualitative interview study of factors influencing entrustment decisions.BMC medical education · 2025Article
- Healthcare Professionals' Perceptions of Emotional Intelligence in Remote Counselling-A Descriptive Qualitative Study.Nursing open · 2025Article
- Predictors of Recent Incidence Trends in Sexually Transmitted Infections: A Systematic Review Protocol.HRB open research · 2025Article
- Skill enactment and knowledge acquisition among community users of digital mental health interventions: qualitative study with thematic analysis.BMC psychiatry · 2024Article
- Where do we go from here? Reconciling implementation failure of PrEP for Black women in the South. Leveraging critical realism to identify unaddressed barriers as we move forward.Frontiers in reproductive health · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Both healthcare providers and researchers in the health sciences are well rehearsed in asking the question 'What could be causing this'? and examining beyond the surface of observable symptoms or obvious factors to understand what is really occurring with patients and health services. Critical realism is a philosophical framework that can help in this inquiry as we attempt to make sense of the observable world. The aim of this article is to introduce critical realism and explore how it can help both healthcare providers and health science researchers to better understand causation through the mechanisms that generate events, despite those mechanisms often being unseen. The article reviews foundational concepts and examples framed in the healthcare setting to make the key principles, strengths and limitations of critical realism accessible for those who are just beginning their journey with this approach.
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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.