Table 7 Fidelity elements included in the trials [59]
From: Challenges in the design, planning and implementation of trials evaluating group interventions
| Â | Training | Delivery of treatment | Receipt of treatment | Enactment of skills | Findings a |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
LM [2] | Standardised training and materials; direct observation of training, checklist used by two researchers | Visual recording of a purposive sample of sessions; assessed by two people using delivery checklist; facilitator supervision; attendance registers | Assessed through qualitative research with a subset of participants at 6 months after randomisation; attendance registers | Assessed through qualitative research with a subset of participants at 6 and 24 months after randomisation | Reported as categorical for fidelity: Satisfactory (based on a continuous fidelity score of 61%–70%) in 7/8 recordings for both participant and facilitator performance |
PLINY [3] | Standardised training and materials; audio recording of purposive sample of training sessions; checklist used by two researchers; checklist for facilitator skill acquisition | Audio recording of sample of groups at three timepoints; assessed by two people using delivery checklist; facilitator supervision; attendance registers | Checklist for treatment included elements of receipt and assessed through qualitative research with a subset of participants; attendance registers | As for receipt, as enactment of skills should have taken place in the group sessions in this intervention | Reported percentage scores for fidelity: Training scores were high but overall fidelity scores for facilitators were low |
REPOSE [4] | Standardised training and materials | Direct observation of particular sessions in intervention arm; existing quality assurance for standard DAFNE course; facilitator supervision + feedback from fidelity assessment; attendance registers | Assessed through qualitative research with a subset of participants immediately after intervention; attendance registers | Assessed through qualitative research with a subset of participants at 6 months after intervention | Achievement of essential outcomes assessed as: Yes, Partial (with a percentage) or Not Observed; appear to be delivered as planned; fed back to facilitators |
STEPWISE [5] | Standardised training and materials | Direct observation of a sample of 30 sessions in 10 sites using a checklist and an interaction observation tool; also explored in qualitative interviews with a subset of participants, facilitators and intervention developers; facilitator supervision; attendance registers | Assessed through qualitative interviews with a subset of participants and facilitators; checklist for session included elements of receipt and enactment; attendance registers | Reported percent of facilitator talk time and the percent of time in positive and negative behaviours; poor intervention fidelity reported | |
JtD [1] | Standardised training and materials; direct observation of training, checklist used by two researchers; checklist for facilitator skill acquisition | Direct observation of two sessions of four groups at four sites; checklist used by two independent observers; self-report checklist by facilitator at each session; facilitator supervision and supervision checklists; attendance registers | Assessed through qualitative interviews with a subset of participants; attendance registers | Assessed through qualitative interviews with a subset of participants | The fidelity data have not yet been analysed or interpreted |