How Qualitative Methods Can be Used to Inform Model Development

Abstract

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A qualitative investigation of the health economic impacts of bariatric surgery for obesity and implications for improved practice in health economics

“…Previous work has found that there is much scope for augmenting the essential elements of economic evaluation with additional qualitative data to inform the context of the study (Husbands et al, ; Kelly et al, ; Van Voorn et al, ). Additionally, from an individual study perspective, patient narratives have been used to inform a recent U.K. health technology assessment about the emotional, social, and material environments that informed the “push and pull” of financial incentives to modify participants' (pregnant and breastfeeding women that smoke) smoking behaviour (Hoddinott et al, ).…”

“…Over the past decade, there has been a call for health economists to effectively integrate combinations of qualitative and quantitative methods into their research toolkit to enrich their research methodologies and therefore improve their practice in health economic study design, data gathering and analyses, reporting, and ultimately research translation (Coast, ; Coast, Mcdonald, & Baker, ; Husbands, Jowett, Barton, & Coast, ; Kelly, McDaid, Ludbrook, & Powell, ; Obermann, Scheppe, & Glazinski, ; Smith, Mitton, & Peacock, ). Additionally, health policy development, research, and management could benefit from more in‐depth, textured descriptions of what actually happens in practice settings, health care markets, and patients' lives (Greenhalgh et al, ; Weiner, Amick, Lund, Lee, & Hoff, ).…”

“…For example, little has been done to highlight the benefits of using qualitative approaches to inform health economic model development: The validity and reliability of health economic models are constantly under scrutiny leading people to question the results (Husbands et al, ). It has been proposed that health economic modellers should consider the opportunities that qualitative methods provide to them including the application of qualitative techniques to model development processes in order to identify where problems are occurring and guidance is needed, and to contribute to the structural development of individual models (Husbands et al, ; Van Voorn et al, ). In regard to health economic model conceptualisation, patient involvement has been acknowledged as an important area requiring further research (Husbands et al, ; Roberts et al, ; Van Voorn et al, ).…”

“…It has been proposed that health economic modellers should consider the opportunities that qualitative methods provide to them including the application of qualitative techniques to model development processes in order to identify where problems are occurring and guidance is needed, and to contribute to the structural development of individual models (Husbands et al, ; Van Voorn et al, ). In regard to health economic model conceptualisation, patient involvement has been acknowledged as an important area requiring further research (Husbands et al, ; Roberts et al, ; Van Voorn et al, ). Furthermore, international guidelines regarding the conceptualisation of health economic models stated that consultations with patients may deepen understanding of the values and preferences relevant to the problem (ISPOR Task Force 2; Roberts et al, ).…”

Integrating Qualitative Techniques in Model Development: A Case Study Using the Framework Approach

“…There are examples of different qualitative research methods used for model development including the Delphi technique [12,13], focus groups [8], and stakeholder workshops [14]. Despite their potential, there is limited uptake of formal qualitative methods in model development by modellers and health economists [15].…”