A limitation is that direct observation of intervention delivery was only possible within the four intervention schools.
20 Process evaluation methods during all three phases included semi-structured interviews with staff and parents, focus groups with children, questionnaire responses from children and parents, documentation of child, parental and staff involvement, and observation of intervention delivery.
The data comprises: (1) interviews with a sample of patients and carers/family members; (2) interviews and observation of professionals working in a community falls prevention clinic (CFPC); and (3) observation of intervention development meetings and related activities (e.g. briefing meeting for clinic staff; informal discussions with team members responsible for intervention development).
Information about the degree to which the intervention was conducted as planned (fidelity), whether the specific components of the intervention were delivered (dose), and the acceptability and sustainability of the education program, was obtained from focus groups with pupils, interviews with teachers and HPA staff, and direct observation of intervention delivery.
Process data will be collected through observations of intervention sessions, interviews with the intervention facilitators and focus groups with Grade 8 students.
On-going process data will be collected during the implementation stage through observations of intervention sessions, exit interviews with students, peer educators, and teachers.
The research team will review weekly session logs from YMCA instructors for potential departure from the EPIC Kids model, and conduct repeated observations of intervention sessions.
The sessions will be held weekly in a common area of the intervention apartment buildings and will be implemented by paramedics from the local paramedic service who have undergone a structured training programme (3 4 h of online, interactive training modules, including case studies and the observation of an intervention session led by another paramedic) to assure intervention fidelity.
It doesn't take a physicist to point out that there's no clear line between observation of and intervention in a situation — flies on walls alter rooms.
However, without good relationships, close observation of the intervention can be challenging.
However, repeated observation of the intervention, data collected on the action plans, and exchanges held with some participants provided the researchers with in-depth knowledge of the intervention's action mechanisms and allowed coherent changes to be made to the intervention.
