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Table 1 Process evaluation domains and research questions

From: A cluster randomised controlled trial of the Wellbeing in Secondary Education (WISE) Project – an intervention to improve the mental health support and training available to secondary school teachers: protocol for an integrated process evaluation

Process evaluation domain

Research question

Mechanisms of change

RQ1: Are the intervention’s mechanisms of change operationalised as hypothesised?

RQ2: How is the operationalisation of the mechanisms of change influenced by contextual factors?

RQ3: Does the interaction of the mechanisms of change with contextual factors give rise to unintended effects?

Programme differentiation and usual practice

RQ4: Is the Wellbeing in Secondary Education (WISE) intervention differentiable from ‘usual practice’ and does this differentiation change during the study?

RQ5: Is there contamination of usual practice in control schools by receipt of the WISE intervention or similar approaches?

Implementation (WISE training components)

RQ6: What is the reach of the WISE training components (e.g. 8% of staff attending Standard Mental Health First Aid)?

RQ7: How many targeted staff complete the WISE intervention training?

RQ8: Are the WISE training components delivered with fidelity and what is the nature of any adaptions undertaken?

RQ9: Are there differences in the delivery of the WISE training components between England and Wales, and what gives rise to any differences?

RQ10: How well are the WISE training components delivered?

Implementation (peer support service)

RQ11: What proportion of teachers receive support from the peer support service?

RQ12: Is the peer support service delivered with fidelity and what is the nature of any adaptions undertaken?

RQ13: What are the barriers and facilitators to the implementation of the peer support service?

Acceptability

RQ14: Is the WISE intervention acceptable to funding organisations, intervention trainers, head-teachers, teachers and students?

Sustainability

RQ15: How likely is the WISE intervention to be sustainable and what factors might ensure sustainability?