Table 1 Definitions of realist concepts as used in this paper
From: Drivers of unprofessional behaviour between staff in acute care hospitals: a realist review
Realist term | Operational definition |
|---|---|
Context | Aspects of the setting in which UB occurs which affect how mechanisms are triggered. This can include geographical, social, resource, participant, or other features [40, 46] |
Context–mechanism–outcome configurations (CMOCs) | A realist heuristic which enables an understanding of generative causation. This is typically constructed as “an outcome (O) of interest was generated by relevant mechanism(s) (M) being triggered in specific context(s) (C)” [40] |
Demi-regularity | “semi-predictable patterns or pathways of programme functioning” [40] |
Mechanisms | “… mechanisms are a combination of resources offered by the social programme under study and stakeholders’ reasoning in response” [41] |
Programme theory | “A set of theoretical explanations or assumptions about how a particular programme, process or interventions is expected to work” [37] Initial programme theories are those created at the start of the analysis process from a limited amount of literature and stakeholder input. Refined programme theories are those that arise from the end of the analysis process after a process of comparison, refutation, consolidation, and creation as necessary |
Retroduction | “Identification of hidden causal forces that lie behind identified patterns or changes in those patterns” [37] |
Outcomes | “Outcomes are any intended or unintended changes in individuals, teams or organisational culture generated by context-mechanism interactions” [47]. These can be proximal and distal in the causal chain |