A goal in implementing health research is to change behavior and workplace culture. Realist methods are being used increasingly in healthcare research. While these methods provide context-based pragmatic recommendations, the data can be dense. Thus, making the transfer of knowledge into practice challenging for researchers and clinicians. This paper offers a novel approach to studying complex issues, communicating and motivating behavior change in healthcare using a realist approach to narrative analysis and producing synthesized narratives. A realist lens to research enables researchers to understand what works, with whom, and under what conditions. When used alone, realist methods can result in complex findings that can prove challenging to translate into practice. However, combining a realist approach with narrative analysis can enable a better understanding of the topic and promote practice change. This paper employs a case study on speaking up in healthcare to illustrate this novel method. This case study reports on a longitudinal interview study with a cohort of allied health new graduates to illustrate these methods and discuss the benefits and limitations of their application. We will provide researchers with clear steps to support replication. We argue that this method can aid the implementation of research findings across various contexts within and outside healthcare settings.
Friary et al. (Tue,) studied this question.