A Methodological Review of Mixed Methods Research in Palliative and End-of-Life Care (2014–2019)

Sergi Fàbregues, Quan Nha Hong, Elsa Lucia Escalante-Barrios, Timothy C. Guetterman, Julio Meneses and Michael D. Fetters
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Sergi Fàbregues: Department of Psychology and Education, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, 08018 Barcelona, Spain
Quan Nha Hong: Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Co-ordinating Centre (EPPI-Centre), University College London, London WC1H 0NR, UK
Elsa Lucia Escalante-Barrios: Department of Education, Universidad del Norte, Barranquilla 0000, Colombia
Timothy C. Guetterman: Graduate School of Health, Creighton University, Omaha, NE 68178, USA
Julio Meneses: Department of Psychology and Education, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, 08018 Barcelona, Spain
Michael D. Fetters: Department of Family Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48104, USA

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 11, 1-16

Abstract: Mixed methods research has been increasingly recognized as a useful approach for describing and explaining complex issues in palliative care and end-of-life research. However, little is known about the use of this methodology in the field and the ways in which mixed methods studies have been reported. The purpose of this methodological review was to examine the characteristics, methodological features and reporting quality of mixed methods articles published in palliative care research. The authors screened all articles published in eight journals specialized in palliative care between January 2014 and April 2019. Those that reported a mixed methods study (n = 159) were included. The Good Reporting of a Mixed Methods Study (GRAMMS) criteria were used to assess reporting quality. Findings showed that 57.9% of the identified studies used a convergent design and 82.4% mentioned complementarity as their main purpose for using a mixed methods approach. The reporting quality of the articles generally showed a need for improvement as authors usually did not describe the type of mixed methods design used and provided little detail on the integration of quantitative and qualitative methods. Based on the findings, recommendations are made to improve the quality of reporting of mixed methods articles in palliative care.

Keywords: palliative care research; end-of-life research; mixed methods research; qualitative research; quantitative research; research design; reporting quality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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