Developing and evaluating complex interventions: an introduction to the new Medical Research Council guidance

Abstract

Complex interventions are widely used in the health service, in public health practice, and in areas of social policy that have important consequences for population health, such as education, transport, and housing. They present a number of problems for evaluators, in addition to the practical and methodological difficulties that any successful evaluation must overcome. In 2008, the Medical Research Council (MRC) published revised and updated guidance to help researchers and research funders recognize and adopt appropriate methods. This chapter summarizes key messages for the evaluation of public health interventions, and discusses some of the issues that have been raised since the guidance was published