Journal Articles

OPALesence: Epistemological pluralism in the evaluation of a systems-wide childhood obesity prevention program

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The evaluation of complex systems-wide public health interventions requires evaluation
research that is underpinned by theory. This article presents and discusses the trans-disciplinary
evaluation research framework developed to support the evaluation of a South Australian
program called OPAL (Obesity Prevention and Lifestyle). The aim is to provide insights into the
research design, methods and implementation of the evaluation and contribute to the debate
on how to evaluate community-based interventions with complicated and complex aspects. In
an attempt to capture the complexity of childhood obesity and the intervention, the OPAL
evaluation research employs post positivist, interpretive and critical epistemologies, valuing
epistemological pluralism. Each component of the multi-phase mixed methods evaluation
captures different yet complementary information concerning the context, process, cost
effectiveness and outcomes providing a more complete understanding of the impacts of the
complex program. Evaluation research is not without challenges. Some of the tensions and
challenges that arose in the establishment, planning and conduct of the OPAL program and
evaluation are discussed.

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Detail Information

Series Title

Evaluation : The International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice

Call Number

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Publisher

Thousand Oaks, CA : Sage Publications., 2016

Collation

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Language

English

ISBN/ISSN

13563890

Classification

NONE

Content Type

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Media Type

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Carrier Type

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Edition

Volume 22, Issue 1, January 2016; pp. 29–48

Subject(s)

Methodology
Epistemology
Childhood
Complex systems
Evaluation Research

Specific Detail Info

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Statement of Responsibility

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