In
social studies
In many countries' curricula, social studies is the combined study of humanities, the arts, and social sciences, mainly including history, economics, and civics. The term was coined by American educators around the turn of the twentieth century as ...
and
social policy
Some professionals and universities consider social policy a subset of public policy, while other practitioners characterize social policy and public policy to be two separate, competing approaches for the same public interest (similar to MD a ...
, intervention theory is the analysis of the
decision making
In psychology, decision-making (also spelled decision making and decisionmaking) is regarded as the cognitive process resulting in the selection of a belief or a course of action among several possible alternative options. It could be either ra ...
problems of intervening effectively in a situation in order to secure desired outcomes. Intervention theory addresses the question of when it is desirable not to intervene and when it is appropriate to do so. It also examines the effectiveness of different types of intervention. The term is used across a range of social and medical practices, including health care, child protection and law enforcement. It is also used in
business studies
Business studies, often simply called business, is a field of study that deals with the principles of business, management, and economics. It combines elements of accountancy, finance, marketing, organizational studies, human resource manageme ...
.
Within the theory of nursing, intervention theory is included within a larger
scope of practice
Scope of practice describes the activities and duties that a healthcare professional is permitted to undertake. The limits on the actions of these practitioners are set by the terms of their professional license and what the law allows. Each juris ...
theories. Burns and Grove point out that it directs the implementation of a specific nursing intervention and provides theoretical explanations of how and why the intervention is effective in addressing a particular patient care problem. These theories are tested through programs of research to validate the effectiveness of the intervention in addressing the problem.
In ''Intervention Theory and Method''
Chris Argyris
Chris Argyris (July 16, 1923 – November 16, 2013) was an American business theorist and professor at Yale School of Management and Harvard Business School. Argyris, like Richard Beckhard, Edgar Schein and Warren Bennis, is known as a co-foun ...
argues that in
organization development
Organization development (OD) is the study and implementation of practices, systems, and techniques that affect organizational change. The goal of which is to modify a group's/organization's performance and/or culture. The organizational chang ...
, effective intervention depends on appropriate and useful knowledge that offers a range of clearly defined choices and that the target should be for as many people as possible to be committed to the option chosen and to feel responsibility for it. Overall, interventions should generate a situation in which actors believe that they are working to internal rather than external influences on decisions.
[Chris Argyris, ''Intervention Theory and Method: A Behavioral Science View'' (Addison-Wesley series in social science and administration), Addison-Wesley, 1970]
See also
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Cognitive interventions, a set of techniques and therapies practiced in counseling
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Psychological intervention
In applied psychology, interventions are actions performed to bring about change in people. A wide range of intervention strategies exist and they are directed towards various types of issues. Most generally, it means any activities used to modify ...
, any action by psychological professionals designed to bring about change in a client
*
Health intervention
A public health intervention is any effort, policy, or program intended to improve mental and physical health at the population level. Interventions involve social movements that strive to support public health at different levels of society. Pub ...
, an effort to promote good health behaviour or to prevent bad health behaviour
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Human Systems Intervention Human Systems Intervention (HSI) is the design and implementation of interventions in social settings where adults are confronted with the need to change their perspectives, attitudes, and actions. Depending on the philosophical and theoretical ori ...
, the design and implementation of interventions in social settings where adults are confronted with the need to change their perspectives, attitudes, and actions
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Intervention (counseling)
An intervention is an orchestrated attempt by one or many people – usually family and friends – to get someone to seek professional help with a substance use disorder or some kind of traumatic event or crisis, or other serious prob ...
, an attempt to compel a subject to "get help" for an addiction or other problem
*
Policy
Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an or ...
, administrative principles guiding organizational behavior to achieve rational goals
Notes
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Decision theory