Definition of Terms
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Context (C) | Aspects of the background of the intervention (eg, characteristics of the people involved in the intervention, the environment in which the intervention occurs, the social and political context, etc) |
| Mechanism (M) | The generative, causal force influencing the effect of program resources on participants’ reasoning, attitudes, and behaviors (sensitive to variation in context) |
| Outcome (O) | Effect of the intervention, dependent on the interactions between the context and mechanism |
| CMO configuration | Relation between context, mechanisms, and outcomes that is a form of realist causal explanation |
| Initial program theory | A preliminary exploration of the theory on how the intervention works |
| Demiregularity | Semipredictable patterns that could emerge from CMO configurations that appear repeatedly, or the interpretation of which is strongly supported by theory |
| Program theory | An empirically testable proposition that lies in an intermediate position relative to generalizable grand theories of social systems on one end and detailed descriptions of situational microphenomena on the other |
| Case manager | Health care professional who provides the intervention. Can also refer to the CM team |
| Frequent user | Individuals/patients who frequently use health care services. Can also include their family and caregivers |
| Health care clinician | Health care professionals involved in the case management intervention (eg, emergency department staff, family physician, etc) |
| Self-management support | Activities the purpose of which is to help patients and their families play a greater role in the management of their health |
CM = case management; CMO = context + mechanism = outcome.