Prof James Lewis feeds back on the June 2024 course ‘Development, Evaluation, Adaptation and Implementation’.
I started working with DECIPHer in October last year, and have always heard good things about the Short Course so I was really keen to attend. I’ve done a lot of work over the years on developing and evaluating complex interventions, but always from a very biomedical view, so I was keen to hear how things look from a more social sciences perspective. I was also keen to catch-up on the latest thinking and refresh my knowledge in key areas.
The course was excellent! So much learning packed into five days, but always with good time for breaks, and lots of time for questions, so it never felt too rushed. The atmosphere was great with attendees from all over the UK, as well as internationally. There was also a wide range of experience, with everyone having something to contribute and something to learn.
I’ve got lots of ideas for future research projects from the course, as well as a long list of papers that I want to read next.
Personally I got the most from the sessions on ecological thinking, complex systems perspectives, programme theory, and economic evaluations, as they were the topics I was shakiest on when I started. All the sessions were interesting though, including those on co-approaches, randomised controlled trials, and natural experiments. I’ve got lots of ideas for future research projects from the course, as well as a long list of papers that I want to read next.
I attended the one-day short courses on Feasibility Studies, Process Evaluations, and Adapting Interventions in September last year, and although these topics are covered in the one-week short course as well, they are really worth attending too if you want to go into these topics in some more depth.
Since October I’ve often thought that the DECIPHer team don’t seem to realise how incredible they are, and this was cemented further by the course. Their combination of skills, experience and training in public health, social sciences and psychology really adds up to something great. They are all very generous people, always willing to share their expertise and time, and this also came through in the course.
If reading all of this makes you want to attend the next course (which I highly recommend), more details are available on the DECIPHer website: https://decipher.uk.net/short-courses/.
James Lewis is a Professor in the School of Social Sciences, and a statistician and epidemiologist by training. His research is focused on better understanding public health challenges and designing and evaluating relevant interventions.