Hi all,
I am aware that this mail group is more about realist synthesis than realist evaluation, but I thought I would post in the hope that someone may be able to help!
For my PhD I am planning to undertake a realist evaluation of length of stay in hospital for elective patients having a joint replacement procedure - the basic question I am asking is: 'What are the key factors that influence length of stay for elective patients in NHS hospitals'. As I am sure people are aware achieving optimum length of stay for patients is often viewed as a positive outcome to enable both effective and efficient care delivery - so I am planning to research how initiatives to reduce length of stay work (or don't work) and why.
I am in the process of developing my detailed research protocol to explain what I will be doing and why with the relevant ethical considerations etc...
I would be very grateful if anyone can point me to any realist evaluation protocols that would may be helpful as I develop mine, as this is a first for me!
Any help, comments, thoughts are gratefully received! Thanks, Paul
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