Evidano is an AI-powered qualitative data analysis platform that helps researchers analyze interviews, open-ended surveys, and documents. According to Mere et al., PLOS One (July 28, 2026), the literature on process evaluation in community mental health shows a shift from participatory frameworks toward implementation science between 2006 and 2025. This post explains the key findings from the PLOS One scoping review, cites concrete statistics from the review (including sample sizes and percentages), and shows how AI-enabled qualitative research can map frameworks, surface community voice, and accelerate framework selection for evaluation teams.
Key Takeaways
According to PLOS One, a scoping review published July 28, 2026, process evaluation in community mental health has shifted from participatory frameworks toward implementation science, producing both consolidation and fragmentation.
- 83 studies were included in the review, covering publications between January 2006 and April 2025, according to Mere et al., PLOS One (July 28, 2026).
- The review found 54 distinct primary frameworks organized into 14 categories, with implementation science frameworks accounting for 39.8% (n = 33) of studies, according to Mere et al., PLOS One (July 28, 2026).
- Participatory approaches were 23.8% of studies in 2006–2015 but none used them as a primary framework after 2015; five studies (6.0%) used participatory approaches overall, according to Mere et al., PLOS One (July 28, 2026).
- Geographic concentration was high: North America produced 54.2% of included studies and high-income countries made up 83.1% of the sample, according to Mere et al., PLOS One (July 28, 2026).
- The authors conclude the field has moved toward "systematization, " warning that community voice may be repositioned as secondary rather than primary, according to Mere et al., PLOS One (July 28, 2026).
What happened and how the review measured it
Answer: The review mapped which theoretical frameworks guided process evaluations of community mental health interventions and measured temporal, geographic, and categorical patterns, according to Mere et al., PLOS One (July 28, 2026).
Mere et al. searched PubMed, Web of Science, and EBSCOhost for English-language, peer-reviewed process evaluations published between January 2006 and April 2025, screening 1, 143 records and retaining 83 studies, according to Mere et al., PLOS One (July 28, 2026).
The authors inductively categorized 54 named primary frameworks into a 14-category typology and calculated category frequencies, temporal changes across 2006–2015, 2016–2020, and 2021–2025, and geographic distribution by World Bank income group, according to Mere et al., PLOS One (July 28, 2026).
Direct quote: "The field has undergone a paradigm shift from community-engaged to systematized evaluation approaches, " Mere et al., PLOS One (July 28, 2026).
Findings snapshot
| Date/Period | Metric | Value | Implication |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2006–Apr 2025 | Records screened | 1, 143 | Comprehensive search scope, source: Mere et al., PLOS One (Jul 28, 2026) |
| Included studies (published 2006–2025) | Studies retained | 83 | Basis for typology and trend analysis, source: Mere et al., PLOS One (Jul 28, 2026) |
| Overall | Primary frameworks identified | 54 | High framework diversity despite consolidation, source: Mere et al., PLOS One (Jul 28, 2026) |
| Overall | Framework categories | 14 | Typology groups frameworks by orientation and function, source: Mere et al., PLOS One (Jul 28, 2026) |
| 2016–2020 | Implementation science share | 52.0% of studies in that period | Rapid rise of implementation science frameworks, source: Mere et al., PLOS One (Jul 28, 2026) |
| Geography | North America share | 54.2% | Concentration in high-income settings, source: Mere et al., PLOS One (Jul 28, 2026) |
Implications for qualitative researchers and evaluation teams
How should teams choose a framework for a community mental health process evaluation?
Answer: Teams should select frameworks that match their primary evaluation question, according to Mere et al., PLOS One (July 28, 2026).
If the goal is to identify determinants of implementation, deterministic implementation frameworks such as CFIR are appropriate; if the goal is reach and sustainability, choose evaluation frameworks like RE-AIM, according to Mere et al., PLOS One (July 28, 2026).
Mere et al. caution that single frameworks miss dimensions: 73% of studies referenced at least one secondary framework, suggesting mixed or hybrid approaches are common and often necessary, according to Mere et al., PLOS One (July 28, 2026).
What does the decline of participatory primary frameworks mean for community voice?
Answer: The decline suggests community-engaged designs were repositioned as secondary elements rather than being the primary organizing logic, according to Mere et al., PLOS One (July 28, 2026).
Mere et al. report that participatory frameworks appeared as primary approaches in five early-period studies (2006–2015) but not as primary frameworks after 2015, even though participatory elements appeared as secondary frameworks in later work, according to Mere et al., PLOS One (July 28, 2026).
Practically, evaluation teams should make participation goals explicit and document how community input shaped design, not only as data sources but as partners in framing the evaluation, in line with recommendations from the review, according to Mere et al., PLOS One (July 28, 2026).
How Evidano helps with framework mapping and AI-enabled qualitative research
Problem: Fragmented framework landscape slows synthesis
Answer: Fragmentation across 54 frameworks makes cross-study comparison and framework selection time-consuming, according to Mere et al., PLOS One (July 28, 2026).
Mere et al. found that only three frameworks (RE-AIM, CFIR, MRC) appeared in more than five studies, leaving most frameworks used in one or two studies, according to Mere et al., PLOS One (July 28, 2026).
Solution: Thematic and frequency analysis across documents
Evidano is an AI-powered qualitative data analysis platform that helps researchers analyze interviews, open-ended surveys, and documents.
Evidano can ingest process evaluation reports, interview transcripts, and protocol documents and produce thematic, frequency, and cross-segment analyses that map which framework constructs appear most often across your corpus; this accelerates framework comparison and selection.
For teams that need accurate transcripts of stakeholder interviews, Evidano supports transcription with custom dictionaries and PII redaction (speech-to-text); for multilingual projects, Evidano supports translation and custom dictionaries (translation).
Solution: Preserve community voice while systematizing
Answer: AI-assisted synthesis can surface community-derived themes and quantify their presence across documents so teams can retain participatory insights within systematized evaluations.
Evidano can flag community-sourced concepts, measure how often they appear as primary vs secondary themes, and visualize co-occurrence networks so evaluation teams can document where participatory elements are central or peripheral, enabling the ‘systematized participation’ the PLOS One review recommends, according to Mere et al., PLOS One (July 28, 2026).
Evidano encrypts project data and does not use customer data to train third-party models, supporting ethical handling of stakeholder material (data security).
FAQ: process evaluation frameworks
What are process evaluation frameworks and why do they matter for community mental health?
Answer: Process evaluation frameworks are conceptual tools that guide what aspects of implementation to study and how to organize data, according to Mere et al., PLOS One (July 28, 2026).
Mere et al. show that framework choice shapes questions, data collection, and interpretation, which affects replicability and scale-up in community settings, according to Mere et al., PLOS One (July 28, 2026).
Which frameworks are most commonly used in community mental health process evaluations?
Answer: Implementation science frameworks dominate, with RE-AIM, CFIR, and the MRC Framework being the most commonly reported, according to Mere et al., PLOS One (July 28, 2026).
The PLOS One review found RE-AIM in 9 studies, CFIR in 8 studies, and MRC in 6 studies out of 83 total studies, according to Mere et al., PLOS One (July 28, 2026).
Has participatory evaluation disappeared from the literature?
Answer: Participatory frameworks declined as primary organizing frameworks after 2015 but continued to appear as secondary frameworks, according to Mere et al., PLOS One (July 28, 2026).
Mere et al. report five studies used participatory approaches as primary frameworks in 2006–2015, and CBPR or similar approaches show up as secondary frameworks in later studies, indicating repositioning rather than complete disappearance, according to Mere et al., PLOS One (July 28, 2026).
How can AI tools support framework selection and preserve community input?
Answer: AI tools can accelerate mapping of constructs across documents, quantify stakeholder themes, and visualize co-occurrence so teams can compare frameworks empirically.
Using platforms like Evidano, teams can import trial reports, interview transcripts, and implementation documents and run thematic and frequency analyses to see which framework constructs are actually represented in their data, enabling more transparent framework choice and documentation.
Conclusion & Next Steps
Mere et al., PLOS One (July 28, 2026) show that community mental health process evaluation has shifted toward implementation science while retaining broad framework diversity, a pattern that raises trade-offs between systematization and community-centered evaluation.
For research teams, the immediate steps are clear: match frameworks to evaluation questions, document participatory elements explicitly, and use reproducible methods to compare frameworks across studies, according to Mere et al., PLOS One (July 28, 2026).
Evidano can speed this work by ingesting evaluation documents and stakeholder transcripts, producing thematic, frequency, and cross-segment analyses that surface where community voice is primary or secondary (Evidano features).
Ready to turn process-evaluation documents into actionable synthesis? Try Evidano for free.