Table 1 Realist definitions [27, 28]
Realist definitions | |
Context (C) | Pre-existing conditions which influence the success or failure of different interventions or programmes |
Mechanism (M) | Characteristics of the intervention and people’s reaction to it; how it influences their reasoning |
Outcome (O) | Intended and unintended results of the intervention as a result of a mechanism operating within a context |
Initial rough theory | An early theory, informed by available evidence, about how, why, for whom, and in what circumstances the intervention is thought to work described as a context-mechanism-outcome (CMO) configuration |
Refined theory | An initial theory that has been refined using primary or secondary evidence |