Mukumbang, Ferdinand C.Kabongo, Eveline . M.Delobelle, Peter Arthur2021-01-042021-01-042020Mukumbang, F. C. et al. (2020). Combining the theory of change and realist evaluation approaches to elicit an initial program theory of the MomConnect program in South Africa. BMC Medical Research Methodology ,20(1),2821471-2288https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874-020-01164-yhttp://hdl.handle.net/10566/5532One of the Sustainable Development Goals is to reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030. In South Africa, the flagship National Department of Health MomConnect program was launched in 2014 to strengthen the quality of maternal and child health (MCH) services and improve mortality outcomes. MomConnect was rapidly rolled out with a limited understanding of how and why the program was expected to work even though studies had shown the effectiveness of the MomConnect program in improving the uptake of MCH services. This study aimed to unearth the initial program theory of the MomConnect program based on explicit and implicit assumptions of how the program was organized and expected to work.enMhealthMomconnectTheory of changeRealist evaluationMaternal and child healthArticle