Qualitative methods in research on healthcare quality

TLDR

Improving healthcare quality is challenging, with research revealing persistent difficulties and a strong dependence on patient perspectives and professional attitudes within organizational contexts. The study proposes that using qualitative methods in future research can enhance understanding of how to improve quality. Qualitative research provides diverse methods to uncover what matters to patients, identify barriers to performance change, and explain why improvement succeeds or fails.

Abstract

There are no easy solutions to the problem of improving the quality of care. Research has shown how difficult it can be, but has failed to provide reliable and effective ways to change services and professional performance for the better. Much depends on the perspectives of users and the attitudes and behaviours of professionals in the context of their organisations and healthcare teams. Qualitative research offers a variety of methods for identifying what really matters to patients and carers, detecting obstacles to changing performance, and explaining why improvement does or does not occur. The use of such methods in future studies could lead to a better understanding of how to improve quality.