This paper reports findings from a large multi-method evaluation that employed methods used previously by the research team [ 44, 45] to elicit the views and experiences of a broad constituency of beneficiaries/potential beneficiaries, user representatives, practitioners, public health specialists, service managers and commissioners, and policy makers.
Across the funding bodies, there was little consensus about which sub-groups of society constituted 'the public' for PP/PE activities, such as: policymakers; industry representatives; practitioners; patients; carers; non-governmental organisations; and teachers.
The criteria have been devised in consultation with NGOs, business representatives, industry practitioners and a seven-member technical team of academics and professionals.
Examples included: differences in training; classifying conditions using both TCM pattern differentiation and Western diagnoses; and different professional structures, identifying representative practitioners.
For fully individualised trials where the goal is to have representative practitioners who are encouraged to practise as they normally do, it is appropriate to specify the selection process for the practitioners, providing details of criteria for their inclusion.
Thirdly, by using a representative sample of practitioners and patients it seems appropriate to generalize findings to the entire population of patients and general practices.
First, projections were elaborated through literature reviews and three internal workshops attended by transport researchers, practitioners and representatives from the transport ministry.
670 community members participated in focus groups; 374 practitioners and representatives of regional primary care support organisations participated in in-depth interviews.
The consortium included partners in environmental research, public health and veterinary medicine; included medical practitioners and representatives of local administrations; and had access to national policy making and EEA and WHO expertise.
Training courses that emphasized the need to enhance collaboration and communication for pandemic influenza were held with regional and municipal health authorities, general practitioners, and representatives of all hospitals in the northern region.
