By Gabriele Vojt
I’m Gabriele, a researcher on the TIGER study and my role is to support the process evaluation of the TIGER study. What is process evaluation though and why are we doing one?
Process evaluations are a “study within a study” that help us understand the findings of our research.
In the TIGER process evaluation, the team and I are examining how the TIGER study is delivered in GP surgeries in England. We want to find out how the people involved in the research effect the study outcomes. In short, the aim is to understand what works for whom, where, when, under what circumstances, and how.
The TIGER study is complex: there are a lot of different and interacting parts. Any changes in one part of the study might cause ripple effects and influence other parts. For example, the way researchers or healthcare staff talk about the study could change what parents think and do. This, in turn, could change how the study works.
We also look at how different contexts might impact study processes and outcomes. For example, a study can work well in a GP surgery where there are a lot of trained staff, interested patients, and the surgery has lots of room availability. The same study might not work in an under-resourced GP surgery, with only one staff trained in the study, or where people can’t get to the surgery easily. We also examine whether the study works differently for different groups of people.
My role is to interview healthcare staff and commissioners who are involved in delivering the study. I check in with them about how they are delivering TIGER in their surgery. This includes questions about what they think works and what does not work. I also talk to the families and parents taking part in the TIGER study. I ask about their experiences, what they find helpful or difficult, and what improvements they want to see.
Overall, our process evaluation aims to improve the delivery of TIGER and to understand the study results better, so that we can help parents and families who care for young children with
eczema.