Evaluating Complex Interventions Using Qualitative Longitudinal Research: A Case Study of Understanding Pathways to Violence Prevention

Abstract

Evaluating social change programs requires methods that account for changes in context, implementation, and participant experience. We present a case study of a school-based partner violence prevention program with young people, where we conducted 33 repeat interviews with nine participants during and after an intervention and analyzed participant trajectories. We show how repeat interviews conducted during and after a social change program were useful in helping us understand how the intervention worked by providing rich contextual information, elucidating gradual shifts among participants, and identifying aspects of the intervention that appear to influence change. Long-term effects of social change interventions are very hard to quantify or measure directly. We argue that a qualitative longitudinal approach provides a way to measure subtle changes that can serve as proxies for longer term impacts.

Mechanisms for the prevention of adolescent intimate partner violence: A realist review of interventions in low- and middle-income countries

“…Nevertheless, a growing number of interventions, including some in this review, have been able to show quantitatively the relationship between increasing support for gender equitable attitudes and norms and reduced VAW [36,37]. Similarly, the qualitative studies in this review provide evidence in support of this pathway [35,46,48], particularly the longitudinal repeat qualitative data from Mexfam's comprehensive sexuality education intervention, which was able to show incremental changes in participants attitudes towards different types of IPV over time and discussions in later interviews of how they had changed harmful behaviours in their relationships as a result [48].…”

“…controlling behaviour [48]. The reconceptualisation of these concepts as types of violence, rather than expressions of love, led to participants stating new intentions for their relationships, and presenting more positive relationship narratives in later interviews.…”

‘How I'm feeling today, I probably won't be feeling tomorrow’. Using I-Poems to explore young people's changing emotions during the Covid-19 pandemic – A qualitative, longitudinal study

“…Indeed, Neale, 2021a , Neale, 2021b describes this as intensively walking alongside people to gain a processual understanding of how experiences and perceptions are created, negotiated, lived and experienced. Thus, qualitative longitudinal research is particularly suited towards studies that investigate changes and adaptations to traumatic and historic events (such as a global pandemic), as well as pathways, transitions and trajectories over time ( Dwyer & Patrick, 2021 ; Grossoehme & Lipstein, 2016 ; Makleff et al, 2021 ; Patrick et al, 2021 ; Treanor et al, 2021 ; Weller, 2012 ).…”

‘I Enjoy Having Someone to Rant to, I Feel Like Someone is Listening to Me’: Exploring Emotion in the Use of Qualitative, Longitudinal Diary-Based Methods

“…She describes this as intensively walking alongside people to gain a processual understanding of how experiences and perceptions are created, negotiated, lived and experienced. Thus, qualitative longitudinal research is particularly suited towards studies that investigate changes and adaptations to traumatic and historic events (such as the global pandemic), as well as pathways, transitions and trajectories over time (Dwyer & Patrick, 2021;Grossoehme & Lipstein, 2016;Makleff et al, 2021;Patrick et al, 2021;Treanor et al, 2021;Weller, 2012). Nevertheless, there are very few qualitative, diary-based studies with young people, longitudinal or otherwise.…”