Using Realist Evaluation in international collaborative projects: reflections from REVAMP study

The presentation will summarise the progress to-date of using realist evaluation in international collaborative projects reflecting on key challenges and opportunities of using RE within REVAMP.

Abstract

Realist evaluations (REs), are increasingly used in low- and middle-income countries, though literature on these experiences is still scarce. This presentation will share our approach to evaluating a national programme in Nigeria using realist evaluation, and reflect on key lessons we learned so far within an on-going REVAMP research project.

Between 2012 and 2015, the Government of Nigeria implemented the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) to invest revenue from fuel subsidy reduction into a social security programme. One component focused on maternal and child health (SURE-P/MCH) and included recruitment of midwives and community health workers (CHWs), improving infrastructure, supplies, and strengthening governance. Conditional cash transfers were given to pregnant women for uptake of services, and to CHWs for referrals.

Since June 2015 a group of researchers from the University of Leeds, in collaboration with partners from the University of Nigeria, have been using RE to assess the SURE-P/MCH component in the context of the Anambra State. In this study, we utilise methods from: health economics, social sciences, and statistics. The presentation will demonstrate, using the project’s conceptual framework, how different methods from these disciplines can complement each other.

We will summarise the progress to-date and will reflect on key challenges and opportunities of using RE we encountered so far within REVAMP. The presentation will conclude with key feasibility and capacity considerations for designing collaborative RE studies, to inform subsequent discussion.

Location Details

12.21 Social Sciences Building
University of Leeds
Leeds
LS2 9JT

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