The importance of evaluation to demonstrate the effectiveness of policies, programmes and interventions is widely recognised. Evaluation in the context of public health and healthcare is viewed as a complicated exercise, particularly when dealing with complex interventions involving multiple partners, multiple components and multiple outcomes. Eliciting the programme theory is an important starting point of an evaluation process to enable the link between theory and action to be articulated. This article gives a pragmatic account of the practicalities of working with stakeholders as they embark on a formative evaluation of a complex public health initiative, using a using a theory-based approach. Drawing on the principles of Leeuw’s strategic assessment, we planned a workshop to reflect the four stages of this approach–group formation, assumption surfacing, dialectical debate and synthesis. Stakeholders took part in four activities–Free Listing, Sphere of Influence, Beattie’s Theoretical Framework and Programme Concept Mapping. We found that our elicitation approach was particularly suited to reconstructing the programme theory in a non-threatening and playful environment, bringing about an alignment of programme theories by consensus and reducing anxiety.

中文翻译：

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引出和重构程序理论：将理论转化为实践的练习

评估对于证明政策、计划和干预措施的有效性的重要性已得到广泛认可。公共卫生和医疗保健背景下的评估被视为一项复杂的工作，尤其是在处理涉及多个合作伙伴、多个组成部分和多个结果的复杂干预措施时。引出项目理论是评估过程的一个重要起点，可以阐明理论与行动之间的联系。本文对与利益相关者合作的实用性进行了务实的说明，因为他们使用基于理论的方法开始对复杂的公共卫生计划进行形成性评估。借鉴 Leeuw 战略评估的原则，我们计划举办一个研讨会来反映这种方法的四个阶段——团队形成、假设浮出水面，辩证辩论和综合。利益相关者参加了四项活动——自由上市、影响范围、Beattie 的理论框架和计划概念图。我们发现我们的启发式方法特别适合在一个非威胁性和有趣的环境中重建程序理论，通过共识和减少焦虑来使程序理论保持一致。