6th UK and Ireland Implementation Science Research Conference 2023
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PRESENter
Maria Karadimova-Watts
presenter biography
Maria Karadimova-Watts is a Medical Student who has just completed her third year of studies at King’s College London.
As her first research endeavour, she is affiliated with Cicely Saunders institute of Palliative Care, Policy & Rehabilitation, with a particular focus towards how healthcare policy can be refined in order to deliver better outcomes. This particular project focuses on using Logic Models and Theories of Change to understand why healthcare policy outcomes are achieved.
Her broad areas of research interest include palliative care, person-centred care, primary care, lifestyle medicine and medical education.
As part of her medical degree, she will be commencing an intercalated BSc in September, where she hopes to continue developing her research skills and get involved in more research projects.
background
Theories of Change and Logic Models are policy-mapping tools to aid understanding of policy. A Theory of Change is ‘a theory of how and why an initiative works’ [1]. Similarly, a Logic Model ‘illustrates how a program is designed to meet its intended outcomes’ [2]. The objectives of this study were to: (i) examine how Theories of Change and Logic Models are currently used in healthcare policy, and (ii) to explore trends in use across time, countries, and research fields.
MEthod
A scoping review was conducted, using PubMed. Inclusion criteria included mentioning Theories of Change or Logic Models in the context of informing policy, and primary research published within the last 10 years. Exclusion criteria included absence of explanation of ‘policy’, non-healthcare focus and absence of a methods section. A data extraction form was used to extract data on seven outcomes: primary research type, Theory of Change or Logic Model approach, extent of integral use of Theory of Change or Logic Model, revision of the Theory of Change or Logic Model, date of publication, country of publication and topic.
results
346 initial studies were identified, with 25 being included. Results demonstrated 64% of studies implemented a model prior to their research, with 40% of studies revising this initial model after their findings. The highest frequency of models was seen across Africa (28%), although other countries were utilising these (such as America and Australia). 68% of papers focussed on public health.
Conclusion
The focus on public health could be potentially attributable to Governmental requirements in some countries to include a Theory of Change or Logic Model in community-based health intervention applications. Further research is recommended to understand the public health focus, as well as how varying the timepoint of model employment may affect the healthcare policy outcome.