May, CR;
Mair, F;
Finch, T;
MacFarlane, A;
Dowrick, C;
Treweek, S;
Rapley, T;
... Montori, VM; + view all
(2009)
Development of a theory of implementation and integration: Normalization Process Theory.
Implementation Science
, 4
, Article 29. 10.1186/1748-5908-4-29.
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Abstract
Background: Theories are important tools in the social and natural sciences. The methods by which they are derived are rarely described and discussed. Normalization Process Theory explains how new technologies, ways of acting, and ways of working become routinely embedded in everyday practice, and has applications in the study of implementation processes. This paper describes the process by which it was built.Methods: Between 1998 and 2008, we developed a theory. We derived a set of empirical generalizations from analysis of data collected in qualitative studies of healthcare work and organization. We developed an applied theoretical model through analysis of empirical generalizations. Finally, we built a formal theory through a process of extension and implication analysis of the applied theoretical model.Results: Each phase of theory development showed that the constructs of the theory did not conflict with each other, had explanatory power, and possessed sufficient robustness for formal testing. As the theory developed, its scope expanded from a set of observed regularities in data with procedural explanations, to an applied theoretical model, to a formal middle-range theory.Conclusion: Normalization Process Theory has been developed through procedures that were properly sceptical and critical, and which were opened to review at each stage of development. The theory has been shown to merit formal testing.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Development of a theory of implementation and integration: Normalization Process Theory |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1186/1748-5908-4-29 |
| Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1748-5908-4-29 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © 2009 May et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Keywords: | Health technology-assessment, Primary-care, Complex interventions, Process model, Telemedicine, Services |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health > Primary Care and Population Health |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/70636 |
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