Identifying uncertainties and questions when developing complex interventions

Abstract

To implement state-of-the-art interventions that have the highest likelihood of being effective in their specific context, much effort should be concentrated on improving the development of evidence-based complex interventions in healthcare. Despite this, a misfit between a newly developed intervention and the implementation context can easily occur, often resulting in sub-optimal effectiveness. Therefore, it is crucial to address key uncertainties and questions during the development of complex interventions. This chapter focuses on the key uncertainties and related questions most closely associated with the implementation context: problem identification, needs analyses among care receivers and professionals, and current practice analysis. We describe how these uncertainties and questions can be addressed.