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Developing whole-school mental health and wellbeing intervention through pragmatic formative process evaluation: A case-study of innovative local practice within the School Health Research Network
Nina H Gobat
University of Oxford
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1558-557X
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
View the published version at BMC Public Health.
Background: The evidence-base for whole school approaches aimed at improving student mental health and wellbeing remains limited. This may be due to a focus on developing and evaluating de-novo, research led interventions, while neglecting the potential of local, contextually-relevant innovation that has demonstrated acceptability and feasibility. This study reports a novel approach to modelling and refining the theory of a whole-school restorative approach, alongside plans to scale up through a national educational infrastructure in order to support robust scientific evaluation.
Methods: We conducted a pragmatic formative process evaluation of a routinized whole-school restorative approach aimed at improving student mental health and wellbeing in Wales.
Results: The study reports seven phases of the pragmatic formative process evaluation that researchers, policy-makers and practitioners may undertake in the development and evaluation of interventions already in routine practice: 1) identification of innovative local practice; 2) scoping review to identify intervention theory of change; antecedent and emergent contextual characteristics; implementation and outcomes; 3) establishment of a Transdisciplinary Action Research (TDAR) group; 4) co-production of intervention logic model with stakeholders; 5) confirmation of logic model with stakeholders; 6) planning for intervention refinement; and 7) planning for feasibility and outcome evaluation. The phases of this model are seen as being iterative.
Conclusions: Formative, pragmatic process evaluations support researchers, policy-makers and practitioners in developing a robust scientific evidence-base for acceptable and feasible local innovation that does not have a clear evidence base. The case of a whole-school restorative approach provides an exemplar of how such an evaluation may be undertaken.
Keywords
Process evaluation, intervention development, restorative approach, schools-based intervention, mental health, methodology
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Received 03 Aug, 2020
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Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 19 Jun, 2020
Editor assigned
On 27 Apr, 2020
Editor invited
On 26 Apr, 2020
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On 28 Dec, 2019
Version 1
Posted 03 Jan, 2020
No comments provided
Editorial decision: Minor revision
On 03 Feb, 2020
Review #1 received
Received 31 Jan, 2020
Review #2 received
Received 23 Jan, 2020
Reviewer #2 agreed
On 08 Jan, 2020
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 04 Jan, 2020
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 29 Dec, 2019
Editor assigned
On 26 Nov, 2019
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On 25 Nov, 2019
Editor invited
On 25 Nov, 2019
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This preprint is under consideration at BMC Public Health. A preprint is a preliminary version of a manuscript that has not completed peer review at a journal. Research Square does not conduct peer review prior to posting preprints. The posting of a preprint on this server should not be interpreted as an endorsement of its validity or suitability for dissemination as established information or for guiding clinical practice.
Learn more about In Review
Research article
Developing whole-school mental health and wellbeing intervention through pragmatic formative process evaluation: A case-study of innovative local practice within the School Health Research Network
Nina H Gobat
University of Oxford
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1558-557X
Badges
Prescreen
This manuscript passed our Prescreen assessment
Complete author information
Appropriate declaration statements
Potential risks to human health
Prescreen
Peer Review Timeline
CURRENT STATUS: Published
Published
On 18 Jan, 2021
No community comments so far
Editor assigned
On 06 Dec, 2020
Editor invited
On 06 Dec, 2020
Submission checks complete
On 06 Dec, 2020
No comments provided
Editorial decision: Minor revision
On 22 Nov, 2020
Review #1 received
Received 12 Nov, 2020
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 27 Oct, 2020
Editor assigned
On 27 Oct, 2020
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 27 Oct, 2020
Submission checks complete
On 26 Oct, 2020
Editor invited
On 26 Oct, 2020
No comments provided
Editorial decision: Major revision
On 04 Aug, 2020
Review #1 received
Received 03 Aug, 2020
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 23 Jun, 2020
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 19 Jun, 2020
Editor assigned
On 27 Apr, 2020
Editor invited
On 26 Apr, 2020
Submission checks complete
On 28 Dec, 2019
Version 1
Posted 03 Jan, 2020
No comments provided
Editorial decision: Minor revision
On 03 Feb, 2020
Review #1 received
Received 31 Jan, 2020
Review #2 received
Received 23 Jan, 2020
Reviewer #2 agreed
On 08 Jan, 2020
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 04 Jan, 2020
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 29 Dec, 2019
Editor assigned
On 26 Nov, 2019
Submission checks complete
On 25 Nov, 2019
Editor invited
On 25 Nov, 2019
First submitted
On 05 Nov, 2019
Metrics
Comments: 0
PDF Downloads: ...
HTML Views: ...
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
View the published version at BMC Public Health.
Background: The evidence-base for whole school approaches aimed at improving student mental health and wellbeing remains limited. This may be due to a focus on developing and evaluating de-novo, research led interventions, while neglecting the potential of local, contextually-relevant innovation that has demonstrated acceptability and feasibility. This study reports a novel approach to modelling and refining the theory of a whole-school restorative approach, alongside plans to scale up through a national educational infrastructure in order to support robust scientific evaluation.
Methods: We conducted a pragmatic formative process evaluation of a routinized whole-school restorative approach aimed at improving student mental health and wellbeing in Wales.
Results: The study reports seven phases of the pragmatic formative process evaluation that researchers, policy-makers and practitioners may undertake in the development and evaluation of interventions already in routine practice: 1) identification of innovative local practice; 2) scoping review to identify intervention theory of change; antecedent and emergent contextual characteristics; implementation and outcomes; 3) establishment of a Transdisciplinary Action Research (TDAR) group; 4) co-production of intervention logic model with stakeholders; 5) confirmation of logic model with stakeholders; 6) planning for intervention refinement; and 7) planning for feasibility and outcome evaluation. The phases of this model are seen as being iterative.
Conclusions: Formative, pragmatic process evaluations support researchers, policy-makers and practitioners in developing a robust scientific evidence-base for acceptable and feasible local innovation that does not have a clear evidence base. The case of a whole-school restorative approach provides an exemplar of how such an evaluation may be undertaken.
Figure 1
Figure 2