The nursing contribution to qualitative research in palliative care 1990–1999: a critical evaluation

Abstract

Nearly half the nursing papers reviewed were judged to be well written or to have a well-chosen topic. However, more than 40% of papers drew negative comments about key methods-related issues. Arguably therefore efforts to improve the quality of research evidence should focus on this area.

Quantity, Design, and Scope of the Palliative Oncology Literature

“…A number of papers have examined palliative care publications in selected journals [2,[12][13][14] or radiation oncology meetings [15,16]. Others have focused on palliative care qualitative studies [17,18], observational studies [19], or bibliographic searches [1,8,20,21]. However, no study to date has systematically reviewed the published literature in palliative oncology.…”

Using qualitative interviews within medical education research: why we must raise the 'quality bar'

“…Two recent reviews of qualitative studies within the broader health care literature help to illustrate our concerns (we could not find such a review within the medical education literature). The first, a review of 67 papers on qualitative research in palliative nursing care published between 1990 and 1999, evaluated 48% of the papers poorly in terms of the links made between data, analysis and findings 2 . In addition, 40% of the total number of studies were evaluated poorly with regard to other aspects of methodology (e.g.…”

Patient–professional communication research in cancer: an integrative review of research methods in the context of a conceptual framework

“…Although we know of no review of the qualitative research literature on communication, it is likely that the limitations recognized in a review of 138 qualitative studies in the field of palliative care are also relevant here (Bailey et al, 2002;Froggart et al, 2003). The authors noted that there was a high use of generic or nonspecified methodological approaches used, with interview data dominating the qualitative literature.…”

“…The authors noted that there was a high use of generic or nonspecified methodological approaches used, with interview data dominating the qualitative literature. Bailey et al (2002) noted that few of the qualitative studies reviewed broke new ground, thus not succeeding with regard to one of the strongest potentials implicit in qualitative approaches. This, in addition to publication in journals often not accessed by other researchers in cancer communication, may offer a partial explanation for the relatively marginal position presently held by qualitative research on communication.…”