Is NPT restricted to complex interventions in health
care?
No. We focus on health care because that is the area that
most of work in. 'Complex Interventions' aren't restricted to
health care though. Similar processes can be found in most kinds of
organization - and the problem of 'embedding' new technologies and
new ways of working is ubiquitous.
NPT doesn't seem to advance much on Diffusion of
Innovations theory, how is it different? NPT is not
intended to advance on Diffusion of Innovation Theory because it is
about something different. Diffusion Theories are concerned with
the transmission of innovations and often assume stages in
transmission through social networks. NPT is concerned with what
the work is as people seek to operationalise complex interventions
and new technologies, rather than how innovations travel from place
to place.
The mechanisms and constructs of NPT seem very rigid,
are they? No, implementation processes, like other social
processes, are dynamic and emergent. Their outcomes are often
unpredictable and are always interesting. NPT gives us a way of
understanding the drivers of these processes and a framework for
exploring their effects.