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Critical workshop 2023

"Exploring 'change': Qualitative health research through crisis, disruption and emergence".

A huge thank you to Yasmin Garcia Sterling and Alma Ionescu for organising the 2023 QHRN critical workshop, and the wonderful keynote speaker Dr Stephen Roberts (UCL Lecturer in Global Health). This event was part of the lead up to our QHRN international conference (28th and 29th February 2024) and gave opportunity to delegates from across England to critically discuss the theme of what we have learned through crisis and continued disruption, and how this has the potential to aid understanding and inform progress in the field of qualitative health research.

Picture of the attendees from the QHRN Critical Workshop

About the workshop

“Exploring ‘change’: Qualitative health research through crisis, disruption and emergence”.

When? Friday 3rd November 2023, 10-4.30pm

Where? University College London, Here East Campus, London, UK

Keynote address: Dr Stephen Roberts

Lecturer in Global Health, University College London

 

This one-day workshop convened scholars from a broad range of academic disciplines to consider the complex dynamics of crisis, disruption and emergence which are implicated in research and engrained in health and social care. We invited submissions from early career researchers and seasoned academics to reflect on these issues via paper submissions, short presentations, and discussions (see the 2020 workshop for reference). A keynote address from Dr Stephen Roberts began the day.

 

Background

Crisis is inevitable. When it strikes, it alters what we thought to be true and what we used to take for granted - our modi operandi are transformed. Change spurred on by crisis calls for examination and a rearranging of how we see and understand the world around us. This liminal space can be an opportunity for disruption, innovation, and creativity. In such instances, qualitative researchers may need to adjust their methods, positionality, theoretical groundings, and approaches to data collection (1-3). It allows for new ways of conceptualising and doing qualitative health research in ways that disrupt the status quo (4) However, emergence does not benefit everyone in the same ways. When we think about how to innovate from crisis and disruption, we must also ask ourselves who we exclude in these processes and how (5).

Qualitative health research has become increasingly important in times of change and lends itself well to exploring the complexities of the unexpected and unprecedented outcomes these may generate. Such complexities have been recognised in times of global crisis, such as COVID-19, but stretch far beyond the pandemic and span from the micro to the macro levels. Change can occur within or outside health and social care settings, and sits within wider social, political, and environmental contexts. Through emergence comes innovation – for example, this might pertain to physical and digital spaces, but also in terms of understanding people and communities in relation to human need, compassion and kindness alongside health. At stake are contemporary notions of quality, authority, responsibility and relevance in health and social care, and the processes through which knowledge is produced, circulated and applied (6-9).

Aims and scope of the workshop

In this workshop, we aimed to facilitate critical dialogue on the topics of crisis, disruption and emergence within research in health and social care.  We invited submissions from researchers in all stages of their career (from PhD students, postdoctoral researchers through to professors).  Submissions: 1) developed and/or discussed methodological and theoretical approaches to explore disruption and emergence in health and social care research, and/or 2) examined how crisis, disruption and emergence relate to the status quo as an analytical framework to further explore notions of quality, authority, responsibility and relevance in knowledge production.

 

Possible topics included, but were not limited to:

  • Studying the impact of crisis, disruption and emergence on methods and methodological approaches (e.g. co- production and co-creation).
  • Exploring community understandings and ways of communicating health-related concerns using first-person narratives, stories, and storytelling.
  • Contemplating the role of reflexivity within crisis, emergence, innovation, and potential change. The researcher perspective, as well as the participant perspectives and experiences.
  • Addressing the impacts of crisis in relation to inequalities and intersectionality.

Beyond merely presenting research studies or findings, this forum aimed to stimulate discussions about key issues in crafting the future of qualitative health research. As such, we envisage that participants will pose thoughtful ideas and reflect on possible strategies to address the challenges we face in improving health and social care using qualitative methods.  The day was limited to a small number of participants to promote a collaborative and interactive forum.

 

Bibliography

  1. Vindrola-Padros, C, G Chisnall, S Cooper, A Dowrick, N Djellouli, SM Symmons, S Martin, et al. “Carrying Out Rapid Qualitative Research During a Pandemic: Emerging Lessons From COVID-19” (2020).
  2. Eakin, Joan M. “Educating Critical Qualitative Health Researchers in the Land of the Randomized Controlled Trial.” Qualitative Inquiry 22, no. 2 (2016): 107–118.
  3. Pocock, Tessa, Melody Smith, and Janine Wiles. “Recommendations for Virtual Qualitative Health Research During a Pandemic.” QualitativeHealth Research 31, no. 13 (2021): 2403–2413.
  4. Kobakhidze, Magda Nutsa, Janisa Hui, Janice Chui, and Alejandra González. “Research Disruptions, New Opportunities: Re-Imagining Qualitative Interview Study During the COVID-19 Pandemic.” International Journal of Qualitative Methods 20 (2021): 160940692110515.
  5. Weiss, Daniel, Håvard T. Rydland, Emil Øversveen, Magnus Rom Jensen, Solvor Solhaug, and Steinar Krokstad. “Innovative Technologies and Social Inequalities in Health: A Scoping Review of the Literature.” PloS One 13, no. 4 (2018): e0195447–e0195447.
  6. Bromley, Elizabeth, Lisa Mikesell, Felica Jones, and Dmitry Khodyakov. “From Subject to Participant: Ethics and the Evolving Role of Community in Health Research.” American Journal of Public Health (1971) 105, no. 5 (2015): 900–908.
  7. Sharon, Tamar. “The Googlization of Health Research: From Disruptive Innovation to Disruptive Ethics.” Personalized Medicine 13, no. 6 (2016): 563–574.
  8. Bowen, Sarah, Ingrid Botting, Ian D. Graham, Martha MacLeod, Danielle De Moissac, Karen Harlos, Bernard Leduc, Catherine Ulrich, and Janet Knox. “Experience of Health Leadership in Partnering with University-Based Researchers in Canada - A Call to ‘re-Imagine’ Research.” International Journal of Health Policy and Management 8, no. 12 (2019): 684–699.
  9. Ridge, Damien, Laurna Bullock, Hilary Causer, Tamsin Fisher, Samantha Hider, Tom Kingstone, Lauren Gray, et al. “‘Imposter Participants’ in Online Qualitative Research, a New and Increasing Threat to Data Integrity?” Health Expectations 26, no. 3 (2023): 941–944.