Abstract
BackgroundThere is limited research on capacity building interventions that include theoretical foundations. The purpose of this systematic review is to identify underlying theories, models and frameworks used to support capacity building interventions relevant to public health practice. The aim is to inform and improve capacity building practices and services offered by public health organizations.MethodsFour search strategies were used: 1) electronic database searching; 2) reference lists of included papers; 3) key informant consultation; and 4) grey literature searching. Inclusion and exclusion criteria are outlined with included papers focusing on capacity building, learning plans, professional development plans in combination with tools, resources, processes, procedures, steps, model, framework, guideline, described in a public health or healthcare setting, or non-government, government, or community organizations as they relate to healthcare, and explicitly or implicitly mention a theory, model and/or framework that grounds the type of capacity building approach developed. Quality assessment were performed on all included articles. Data analysis included a process for synthesizing, analyzing and presenting descriptive summaries, categorizing theoretical foundations according to which theory, model and/or framework was used and whether or not the theory, model or framework was implied or explicitly identified.ResultsNineteen articles were included in this review. A total of 28 theories, models and frameworks were identified. Of this number, two theories (Diffusion of Innovations and Transformational Learning), two models (Ecological and Interactive Systems Framework for Dissemination and Implementation) and one framework (Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning) were identified as the most frequently cited.ConclusionsThis review identifies specific theories, models and frameworks to support capacity building interventions relevant to public health organizations. It provides public health practitioners with a menu of potentially usable theories, models and frameworks to support capacity building efforts. The findings also support the need for the use of theories, models or frameworks to be intentional, explicitly identified, referenced and for it to be clearly outlined how they were applied to the capacity building intervention.
Highlights
There is limited research on capacity building interventions that include theoretical foundations
The search aimed to locate capacity building articles in public health and general healthcare and included “Capacity building” [MeSH] as well as keywords related to theories and capacity building approaches such as “competency-based education”, “technical assistance”, and/or “education”
This review can be viewed as a first step towards identifying specific theories, models and frameworks used to support capacity building efforts
Summary
There is limited research on capacity building interventions that include theoretical foundations. The World Health Organization defines capacity building as “the development of knowledge, skills, commitment, structures, systems, and leadership to enable effective health promotion” [3]. The aim of capacity building is to improve practices and infrastructure by creating new approaches, structures or values which sustain and enhance the abilities of practitioners and their organizations to address local health issues [5]. It involves engaging in a series of relationships with others within and outside of an organization to build public health knowledge and skills [6]. Examples of organizations providing these types of capacity building services include the World Health Organization [7] at an international level, the Public Health Agency of Canada [8] and the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention [9] at national levels and Public Health Ontario at a provincial level [10]
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