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Table 2 RE-AIM Elements and Qualitative Data Questions and Examples

From: Qualitative approaches to use of the RE-AIM framework: rationale and methods

RE-AIM Element

Questions/Description

Example

Reach

What factors contribute to the participation/non-participation of the participants?

What might have been done to get more of the target audience to participate?

Focus groups and/or interviews at baseline and post-program to determine contributors to use of the program. Consider user-centered design and acceptability principles.

Effectiveness

Did the intervention work to effect the outcomes noted? What other factors contributed to the results? Are the outcomes found accurate? Are the results meaningful?

Ethnography in the setting to observe and reflect on outcomes as they are occurring. Key informant interviews to add participant reflections on the observed outcomes.

Adoption

What factors contributed to the organization and its individuals taking up the intervention? What barriers interacted with the intervention to prevent adoption? Was there partial or complete adoption? Why did some staff members in these organizations participate and others did not?

Key informant interviews with organizational leaders and “on the ground” implementers to identify their intentions and concerns before the intervention; during it, to understand adoption barriers and facilitators in real time; at the end to explain level of adoption and reflect on the intervention experience. To glean multiple perspectives on adoption from those who did and did not adopt and to what extent.

Implementation

How was the intervention implemented? By whom and when? What influenced implementation or lack of implementation? What combination of implementation effects affected the outcome results? How and why was the program or policy adapted or modified over time?

Photovoice with participants as they move through the intervention and their experiences. Critical incident analysis during the intervention to determine interaction of the intervention with contextual and personal factors. Observation at baseline and during the intervention as a fidelity check and to deepen understanding of issues as they emerge in practice.

Maintenance

Is the intervention being implemented (and adapted) after the intervention core period? What is sustained, what discontinued, what modified- and why?

Interviews and observation post-program to determine if the intervention is continuing and why.