Table 3 Relevance of sustainment TMF

1

Institutional theory

2

2

1

5/6

Institutional theory enhances understanding the organizations’ practice sustainment in response to three key pressures but offers limited insight into potentially influential factors at inner setting and individual levels. Its outcome is isomorphism (i.e., increasing likeness), which may be related to sustainment but is conceptually distinct.

2

Model of institutionalization

1

2

1

4/6

The model of institutionalization identifies six factors associated with institutionalization (e.g., standard operating routines; program champion actions). It offers face-valid explanations of proposed relationships, but it lacks a description of the mechanisms underlying those relationships, and its outcome is institutionalization (i.e., “the final stage of an innovation-diffusion process”), which may be related to sustainment but is conceptually distinct.

3

Diffusion of innovations theory

2

2

0

4/6

Diffusion of innovations theory explains how people, as part of a social system, adopt a new idea, behavior, or product through five established adopter categories: innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards. It offers face-valid explanations of proposed relationships but lacks discrete constructs that might be operationalized as antecedents to sustainment, and its outcome is innovation diffusion, which is conceptually distinct from sustainment.

4

Open systems theories

0

2

2

4/6

Open systems theories broadly propose that organizations are strongly influenced by their environments. They offered a meaningful, face-valid explanation of sustainment but do not include discrete constructs, thereby limiting our ability to operationalize or falsify the theory. Further, open systems theories are an umbrella that encompasses several theories, not a singular TMF.

5

Normalization process theory

2

1

1

4/6

Normalization process theory describes the social processes leading the routinization of EBPs. It explains relationships among included constructs but does not offer a clear conceptual distinction between “integration”/”embeddedness” and implementation.

6

Organizational learning theory

1

2

1

4/6

Organizational learning theory describes a process of organizations embedding knowledge from experience. It offers face-valid explanations of proposed conceptual relationships but lacks discrete constructs that might be operationalized as antecedents to sustainment, and its outcome is knowledge, which may be related but is conceptually distinct from sustainment.

7

Health belief model

2

2

0

4/6

The health belief model theorizes that people’s beliefs about whether or not they are at risk for a disease or health problem and their perceptions of the benefits of taking action to reduce or avoid influence their readiness to take action. It offers face-valid explanations of proposed conceptual relationships and identifies mechanisms underlying relationships between included constructs and the outcome; however, its outcome is action, which is conceptually distinct from sustainment.

8

Network theory

2

2

0

4/6

Network theory advances understanding how extant networks affect either the flow of information and resources to individual actors or how individual actors gain prestige or influence through their positions in networks. It offers face-valid explanations of proposed conceptual relationships and identifies mechanisms underlying relationships between included constructs and the outcome; however, its outcome is relational connections, which is conceptually distinct from sustainment.

9

Theory of planned behavior

2

2

0

4/6

The theory of planned behavior offers face-valid explanations of proposed conceptual relationships and identifies mechanisms underlying relationships between included constructs and the outcome; however, its outcome is behavior, which may be related but is conceptually distinct from sustainment.

10

Organizational sustainability framework

1

1

2

4/6

The organizational sustainability framework suggests that sustainability, a term that is related yet distinct from sustainment, is a function of economic, environmental, and social organizational sustainability. The framework identifies very general mechanisms underlying relationships between included constructs and the outcome, and the constructs that it includes are somewhat meaningful and face-valid if not comprehensive.

11

Theory of organization routines

1

2

1

4/6

The theory of organization routines suggests that routines are developed through directions and performances among organizational members. It identifies meaningful, face-valid constructs hypothesized to facilitate routines, but it does not specify the mechanisms underlying the relationships, and its outcome is routines (i.e., ways of accomplishing organizational work), which may be related to sustainment but is conceptually distinct.

12

Complexity theory

0

2

1

3/6

13

Dynamic sustainability framework

0

1

2

3/6

14

Freire’s conscientization theory

1

1

1

3/6

15

Sustainability planning model

0

1

2

3/6

16

Social learning theory/social cognitive theory

1

2

0

3/6

17

Ecological theories

0

2

0

2/6

18

Program Sustainability Index

0

0

2

2/6

19

Sustainability framework for community-based dengue control projects

0

0

2

2/6

20

Theories of organizational change and innovation

[Eliminated (too broad)]

21

Organizational theory: formation of inter-organizational relationships

[Eliminated (too broad)]

22

Conceptual framework on sustainability

[Eliminated (insufficiently specified)]

23

Continuous quality improvement

[Eliminated (too broad)]

24

World Health Organization guidelines and models

[Eliminated (too broad)]

25

Framework for the assessment of sustainability

[Eliminated (too broad)]

26

System dynamics

[Eliminated (too broad)]

27

Child survival sustainability assessment framework

[Eliminated (not a TMF)]

28

HIV/AIDS Program Sustainability Analysis Tool

[Eliminated (not a TMF)]

Total score across TMFs

19

29

13