2.1 Social validity: how acceptable is the policy or intervention in your local context?

2.1 Social validity: how acceptable is the policy or intervention in your local context?

Despite a policy or intervention being highly effective at achieving a desired outcome, its implementers and/or consumers may consider it inappropriate for a particular setting. In order for a policy or intervention to achieve intended outcomes in the practice setting, it must be both effective and socially valid. A programme is said to have social validity when it addresses problems considered relevant by consumers, it does so in a manner that consumers can enjoy or at least tolerate, and it produces outcomes that are considered valuable.(71)

A social validity assessment can provide information regarding how well specific elements of a policy or intervention are liked or disliked. Most current approaches define three elements of a policy or intervention that can be assessed for their social validity.(73) These are:

  1. the social significance of the goals of policy or intervention,
  2. the social appropriateness and acceptability of the policy or intervention’s procedures and
  3. the social importance of the effects or the outcomes produced by policy or interventions.

Most methods for assessing social validity ask parties other than policy-makers or researchers about their opinions on policies and interventions(71) and use questionnaires/rating scales and focus groups or interviews.(72) Below, you can find and download a proposed structure for assessing the social validity of a policy or intervention.

Case study 4: Establishing acceptability – Respiratory diseases, Senegal

Download proposed structure (DOCX 363.4 KB)