Qualitative research methods in psychiatry in India

Abstract

Background: Qualitative research methods (QRMs) bear a critical role in psychiatry as they explore the phenomenology of psychiatric illness and its sociocultural dimensions. However, there is limited evidence regarding its use in psychiatric research in India. Aim: This study, under the aegis of mapping qualitative health research in India initiative, attempted to landscape the use of QRMs in psychiatry and elicited expert opinion on its potential, perceived quality, and scope for improvement. Materials and Methods: We reviewed studies using qualitative methodology published in the Indian Journal of Psychiatry (IJP) and the abstracts presented at the Annual Conference of the Indian Psychiatric Society (ANCIPS) between 2010 and 2019. Titles and abstracts were screened and shortlisted; full-text articles were checked to identify the relevant ones. In addition, ten experts comprising psychiatry journal reviewers, editors, and conference scientific committee members were interviewed to elicit their views and suggestions. Results: Out of 356 papers published in IJP between 2010 and 2019, only 12 papers used QRMs: five qualitative and seven mixed methods. Out of 2297 abstracts published between 2010 and 2019 in ANCIPS, only 28 had used QRMs, consisting of 20 qualitative and eight mixed methods. The findings reveal that qualitative research is still an understudied domain in Indian psychiatry with a substantial need for rigor and quality. Conclusions: To catalyze the use of qualitative research in Indian psychiatry, continuing medical education programs through workshops or webinar mode need to be imparted. These trainings should aim at building skills on qualitative study design, data collection, analysis, and writing.

Research Productivity and Publishing Trends in Publicly Funded Social Work and Psychology Schools in India: A Bibliometric Analysis

“…However, the same is not evident in research methods, especially in psychology; the qualitative methods are the least employed. A study from India from a related field, psychiatry, shows a similar trend of minimal research publications using qualitative methods (Mahapatra et al, 2021). Another recent study also pointed to the lack of diversity in the curriculum in terms of various research approaches, specifically neglecting qualitative methods in social work and psychology Master's programs in India (Padma Sri Lekha et al, 2023).…”

Managing dementia care during COVID-19 pandemic: caregivers’ experiences in Odisha, India

“…The relative odds for multiple morbidities is 6.6 times higher for patients over 60 years of age (Pati et al, 2020b). Multimorbidity, along with psychiatric disorders, lead to a substantial rise in healthcare expenditure (Pati et al, 2014(Pati et al, , 2015a(Pati et al, , 2019a(Pati et al, , 2020b and complicates the already limited access to treatment (Pati et al, 2015a(Pati et al, , 2019bMahapatra et al, 2019;Jena et al, 2020). Psychiatric multimorbidity, including dementia, is an emerging global concern among the elderly.…”

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