This article outlines how a realist evaluation of dementia care in hospitals used non-participant observation to support the refinement and testing of mechanisms likely to lead to the use of person-centred care. We found that comments and explanations of their actions from hospital staff during observation periods provided insights into the reasoning that generated their actions for care in real time. This informed subsequent data collection and analysis. Two worked examples of mechanisms first identified during non-participant observation demonstrate (1) how they were uncovered, and (2) how this informed research activities for theory refinement. Early, iterative engagement with the analytic process, primarily involving reflection and debate with the research team, maximised the potential of observation data to support surfacing underlying mechanisms, linking them to specific contexts and outcomes.

中文翻译：

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使用非参与者观察来揭示机制：来自现实评估的见解

本文概述了对医院痴呆症护理的现实评估如何使用非参与者观察来支持可能导致使用以人为本护理的机制的改进和测试。我们发现，医院工作人员在观察期间对其行为的评论和解释可以深入了解他们实时产生护理行为的推理。这为随后的数据收集和分析提供了信息。在非参与者观察期间首次发现的机制的两个工作示例展示了（1）它们是如何被发现的，以及（2）这如何为理论改进提供信息的研究活动。早期、反复参与分析过程，主要涉及与研究团队的反思和辩论，