Explaining and Analyzing the Realist Review Method: An Approach to Evaluating and Improving the Performance of Complex Interventions

In a distinct manner, a realist review represents a unique approach to literature review that goes beyond the limits of traditional and systematic methods. So that, a realist review adopts a theory-driven methodology to synthesize evidence, grounded in the realist philosophy of science. This approach aims to equip policymakers and practitioners with a comprehensive, detailed, and practical understanding of complex social interventions, offering valuable insights to enhance program planning and implementation. This relatively new approach combines research with an emphasis on describing research results. A realistic review reveals the mechanisms behind identifying the causes of the failure or success of complex interventions in specific settings. In general, there was little uniformity and transparency on many methodological issues. If we want realistic reviews to have a more uniform and transparent approach, certain methodological guidelines may be needed. the purpose of a realistic review is to understand how complex interventions in complex environments work, for whom, and under what conditions. In this regard, the researchers use an exploratory approach and realistically combines evidence-based the theories to regulate the causal relationship between context-mechanism-outcome. If realist review reviews are not comprehensible enough, their utility and relevance may suffer from being limited to a specialist cohort of academics. It is proposed that realist review findings and outputs must be framed and communicated meaningfully without undertaking translational efforts.