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

Fàbregues, Sergi; Hong, Quan Nha; Escalante-Barrios, Elsa Lucia; Guetterman, Timothy C.; Meneses, Julio; Fetters, Michael D.

doi:10.3390/ijerph17113853

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

Sergi Fàbregues

^1,*

Quan Nha Hong

Elsa Lucia Escalante-Barrios

Timothy C. Guetterman

^4,5

Julio Meneses

and

Michael D. Fetters

⁵

Department of Psychology and Education, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, 08018 Barcelona, Spain

Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Co-ordinating Centre (EPPI-Centre), University College London, London WC1H 0NR, UK

Department of Education, Universidad del Norte, Barranquilla 0000, Colombia

⁴

Graduate School of Health, Creighton University, Omaha, NE 68178, USA

⁵

Department of Family Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48104, USA

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(11), 3853; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17113853

Received: 8 May 2020 / Revised: 21 May 2020 / Accepted: 28 May 2020 / Published: 29 May 2020

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Palliative and End-of-Life Care)

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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. View Full-Text

Keywords: palliative care research; end-of-life research; mixed methods research; qualitative research; quantitative research; research design; reporting quality

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MDPI and ACS Style

Fàbregues, S.; Hong, Q.N.; Escalante-Barrios, E.L.; Guetterman, T.C.; Meneses, J.; Fetters, M.D. A Methodological Review of Mixed Methods Research in Palliative and End-of-Life Care (2014–2019). Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 3853. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17113853

AMA Style

Fàbregues S, Hong QN, Escalante-Barrios EL, Guetterman TC, Meneses J, Fetters MD. A Methodological Review of Mixed Methods Research in Palliative and End-of-Life Care (2014–2019). International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2020; 17(11):3853. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17113853

Chicago/Turabian Style

Fàbregues, Sergi, Quan N. Hong, Elsa L. Escalante-Barrios, Timothy C. Guetterman, Julio Meneses, and Michael D. Fetters. 2020. "A Methodological Review of Mixed Methods Research in Palliative and End-of-Life Care (2014–2019)" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 17, no. 11: 3853. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17113853

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

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