Focus and methodological adaptations of qualitative research during the COVID-19 pandemic: a scoping review and textual narrative synthesis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18203/issn.2454-2156.IntJSciRep20232190Keywords:
COVID-19, Qualitative research, Methods, EthnographyAbstract
Research is a vital driver of the response to health emergencies. This scoping review aimed to characterize the application of qualitative research during the COVID-19 pandemic, with two primary objectives: identifying the qualitative research methods and adaptations applied, and summarizing the research questions which the studies sought to answer. CINAHL and PsycINFO were systematically searched for qualitative studies relating to COVID-19 and published between January 2020 and November 2021. Articles were screened and included in the review using pre-defined eligibility criteria. A total of 535 articles met the inclusion criteria, mostly from North America and Europe. An observed methodological adaptation was a surge in virtually conducted research – most studies collected data through interviews, 52% of which were conducted virtually using telephone or teleconferencing technology. Similarly, 27% of the focus group discussions and 20% of the ethnographies were conducted virtually. A textual narrative synthesis of all reviewed studies identified four major groups: health-related studies, education-related studies, studies about vaccine acceptance, and studies in specific population groups, such as the elderly, ethnic minorities, and working-class women in patriarchal contexts. There was a seeming neglect of the experience of youths, and insufficient attention has been paid to the dynamics of medical distrust with regard to vaccine hesitancy. Qualitative research has been applied to extensively explore people’s perceptions and experiences of the pandemic. The progressive improvement of virtual research methods will be beneficial for future pandemic preparedness. More representation of research from under-resourced regions of the world is also needed.
Metrics
References
COVID-19 Early Epidemiologic and Clinical investigations for public health response [press release]. WHO, 2020. 2020. Available at: https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/covid-19-early-epidemiologic-and-clinical-investigations-for-public-health-response. Accessed on 02 May 2023.
Baron YM. Could the Omicron Variant be the last Variant of Concern of the COVID-19 Pandemic? Global Immunity is Key. J Env Sci Public Health. 2023;7(1):7-13.
Moeti M, Makubalo L, Gueye AS, Balde T, Karamagi H, Awandare G, et al. Conflicting COVID-19 excess mortality estimates. The Lancet. 2023;401(10375):431.
Lazarus JV, Ratzan S, Palayew A, Billari FC, Binagwaho A, Kimball S, et al. COVID-SCORE: A global survey to assess public perceptions of government responses to COVID-19 (COVID-SCORE-10). PloS One. 2020;15(10):e0240011.
Diallo A, Carlos-Bolumbu M, Diallo MH, Makinson A, Galtier F. Efficacy of approved vaccines to prevent covid-19: A systematic review and network meta-analysis of reconstructed individual patient data from randomized trials. J Public Health. 2022;1-10.
Daria S, Islam MR. The SARS‐CoV‐2 omicron wave is indicating the end of the pandemic phase but the COVID‐19 will continue. J Med Virol. 2022;94(6):2343.
Turner T, El-Jardali F. The crucible of COVID-19: what the pandemic is teaching us about health research systems. Health Research Policy and Systems. 2020;18(1):1-3.
Tremblay S, Castiglione S, Audet L-A, Desmarais M, Horace M, Peláez S. Conducting qualitative research to respond to COVID-19 challenges: Reflections for the present and beyond. Int J Qualitative Methods. 2021;20:16094069211009679.
Vindrola-Padros C, Johnson GA. Rapid techniques in qualitative research: a critical review of the literature. Qualitative Health Res. 2020;30(10):1596-604.
Daudt HM, van Mossel C, Scott SJ. Enhancing the scoping study methodology: a large, inter-professional team's experience with Arksey and O'Malley's framework. BMC Med Res Methodol. 2013;13:48.
Arksey H, O'Malley L. Scoping studies: towards a methodological framework. Int J Social Res Methodol. 2005;8(1):19-32.
Tricco AC, Lillie E, Zarin W, O'Brien KK, Colquhoun H, Levac D, et al. PRISMA extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR): checklist and explanation. Ann Int Med. 2018;169(7):467-73.
Rosumeck S, Wagner M, Wallraf S, Euler U. A validation study revealed differences in design and performance of search filters for qualitative research in PsycINFO and CINAHL. J Clin Epidemiol. 2020;128:101-8.
Wright K, Golder S, Lewis-Light K. What value is the CINAHL database when searching for systematic reviews of qualitative studies? Systemat Rev. 2015;4(1):1-8.
Page MJ, McKenzie JE, Bossuyt PM, Boutron I, Hoffmann TC, Mulrow CD, et al. The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. Int J Surg. 2021;88:105906.
Popay J, Roberts H, Sowden A, Petticrew M, Arai L, Rodgers M, et al. Guidance on the conduct of narrative synthesis in systematic reviews. A product from the ESRC methods programme Version. 2006;1(1):b92.
WHO. COVID-19 Weekly Epidemiological Update - Edition 68. 2021. Available at: https://www.who.int/ publications/m/item/weekly-epidemiological-update -on-covid-19---30-november-2021. Accessed on 2nd May 2023.
Mulimani P. Publication bias towards Western populations harms humanity. Nature Human Behaviour. 2019;3(10):1026-7.
Palinkas LA, Horwitz SM, Green CA, Wisdom JP, Duan N, Hoagwood K. Purposeful Sampling for Qualitative Data Collection and Analysis in Mixed Method Implementation Research. Adm Policy Ment Health. 2015;42(5):533-44.
Busetto L, Wick W, Gumbinger C. How to use and assess qualitative research methods. Neurol Res Pract. 2020;2(1):14.
Moyce S, Velazquez M, Claudio D, Thompson S, Metcalf M, Aghbashian E, et al. Exploring a rural Latino community's perception of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ethn Health. 2021;26(1):126-38.
Valerio MA, Rodriguez N, Winkler P, Lopez J, Dennison M, Liang Y, et al. Comparing two sampling methods to engage hard-to-reach communities in research priority setting. BMC Med Res Methodol. 2016;16(1):146.
Breton M, Sullivan EE, Deville-Stoetzel N, McKinstry D, DePuccio M, Sriharan A, et al. Telehealth challenges during COVID-19 as reported by primary healthcare physicians in Quebec and Massachusetts. BMC Fam Pract. 2021;22(1):192.
Brooke J, Clark M. Older people's early experience of household isolation and social distancing during COVID-19. J Clin Nurs. 2020;29(21-22):4387-402.
Brown L, Mossabir R, Harrison N, Brundle C, Smith J, Clegg A. Life in lockdown: a telephone survey to investigate the impact of COVID-19 lockdown measures on the lives of older people (≥75 years). Age Ageing. 2021;50(2):341-6.
Carson SL, Casillas A, Castellon-Lopez Y, Mansfield LN, Morris DA, Barron J, et al. COVID-19 Vaccine Decision-making Factors in Racial and Ethnic Minority Communities in Los Angeles, California. JAMA Network Open. 2021;4(9):e2127582-e.
Ng L, Seow KC, MacDonald L, Correia C, Reubenson A, Gardner P, et al. eLearning in Physical Therapy: Lessons Learned From Transitioning a Professional Education Program to Full eLearning During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Phys Ther. 2021;101(4).
Afeng-Nkansah D, Asumanu E, Nyinaku P, Acheampong F, Lamptey R. Response of Healthcare Workers to COVID-19 Protocols after the Index Case at 37 Military Hospital, Ghana. Biomed Res Int. 2021;2873859.
Briggs D, Telford L, Lloyd A, Ellis A. Working, living and dying in COVID times: perspectives from frontline adult social care workers in the UK. Safer Communities. 2021.
Mutola S, Pemunta NV, Ngo NV. Utilization of traditional medicine and its integration into the healthcare system in Qokolweni, South Africa; prospects for enhanced universal health coverage. Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2021;43:101386.
Gao Z. Unsettled belongings: Chinese immigrants’ mental health vulnerability as a symptom of international politics in the COVID-19 pandemic. J Humanistic Psychol. 2021;61(2):198-218.
Halberg N, Jensen PS, Larsen TS. We are not heroes-The flipside of the hero narrative amidst the COVID19-pandemic: A Danish hospital ethnography. J Adv Nurs. 2021;77(5):2429-36.
Reeves S, Kuper A, Hodges BD. Qualitative research methodologies: ethnography. BMJ. 2008;337.
Butler CR, Wong SP, Wightman AG, O’Hare AM. US clinicians’ experiences and perspectives on resource limitation and patient care during the COVID-19 pandemic. JAMA Network Open. 2020;3(11):e2027315-e.
Dassieu L, Pagé MG, Lacasse A, Laflamme M, Perron V, Janelle-Montcalm A, et al. Chronic pain experience and health inequities during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada: qualitative findings from the chronic pain & COVID-19 pan-Canadian study. Int J Equity Health. 2021;20(1):147.
Cahapay MB. Stranded College Students amid Corona Virus Disease 2019 Pandemic: An Existential Phenomenology. J Loss Trauma. 2020;25(6-7):598-604.
Pandita S, Mishra HG, Chib S. Psychological impact of covid-19 crises on students through the lens of Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) model. Child Youth Serv Rev. 2021;120:105783.
Rad FA, Otaki F, Baqain Z, Zary N, Al-Halabi M. Rapid transition to distance learning due to COVID-19: Perceptions of postgraduate dental learners and instructors. PLoS One. 2021;16(2):e0246584.
Bullard J. The impact of COVID-19 on the well-being of division III student-athletes. Sport J. 2020;21:1-25.
Berkhout SG, Sheehan KA, Abbey SE. Individual- and Institutional-level Concerns of Health Care Workers in Canada During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Analysis. JAMA Netw Open. 2021;4(7):e2118425.
Gordon JM, Magbee T, Yoder LH. The experiences of critical care nurses caring for patients with COVID-19 during the 2020 pandemic: A qualitative study. Appl Nurs Res. 2021;59:151418.
Góes FGB, Silva A, Santos A, Pereira-Ávila FMV, Silva LJD, Silva LFD, et al. Challenges faced by pediatric nursing workers in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Rev Lat Am Enfermagem. 2020;28:e3367.
Foli KJ, Forster A, Cheng C, Zhang L, Chiu YC. Voices from the COVID-19 frontline: Nurses' trauma and coping. J Adv Nurs. 2021;77(9):3853-66.
Adams L, Lester S, Hoon E, van der Haak H, Proudman C, Hall C, et al. Patient satisfaction and acceptability with telehealth at specialist medical outpatient clinics during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. Intern Med J. 2021;51(7):1028-37.
Ajayi KV, Harvey IS, Panjwani S, Uwak I, Garney W, Page RL. Narrative Analysis of Childbearing Experiences During the COVID-19 Pandemic. MCN Am J Matern Child Nurs. 2021;46(5):284-92.
Sweet L, Bradfield Z, Vasilevski V, Wynter K, Hauck Y, Kuliukas L, et al. Becoming a mother in the 'new' social world in Australia during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Midwifery. 2021;98:102996.
Anderson E, Brigden A, Davies A, Shepherd E, Ingram J. Maternal vaccines during the Covid-19 pandemic:A qualitative interview study with UK pregnant women. Midwifery. 2021;100:103062.
Haffejee S, Levine DT. ‘When will I be free’: Lessons from COVID-19 for Child Protection in South Africa. Child Abuse Neglect. 2020;110:104715.
Sarkadi A, Sahlin Torp L, Pérez-Aronsson A, Warner G. Children's Expressions of Worry During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Sweden. J Pediatr Psychol. 2021;46(8):939-49.
Vasileva M, Alisic E, De Young A. COVID-19 unmasked: preschool children's negative thoughts and worries during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2021;12(1):1924442.
Verhage M, Thielman L, de Kock L, Lindenberg J. Coping of Older Adults in Times of COVID-19: Considerations of Temporality Among Dutch Older Adults. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2021;76(7):e290-e9.
Tsiboe AK. Describing the experiences of older persons with visual impairments during COVID-19 in rural Ghana. J Adult Protection. 2020;22(6).
Barrett AE, Michael C, Padavic I. Calculated Ageism: Generational Sacrifice as a Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2021;76(4):e201-e5.
Xiang X, Lu X, Halavanau A, Xue J, Sun Y, Lai PHL, et al. Modern Senicide in the Face of a Pandemic: An Examination of Public Discourse and Sentiment About Older Adults and COVID-19 Using Machine Learning. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2021;76(4):e190-e200.
Xi W, Xu W, Zhang X, Ayalon L. A Thematic Analysis of Weibo Topics (Chinese Twitter Hashtags) Regarding Older Adults During the COVID-19 Outbreak. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2021;76(7):e306-e12.
Vauclair CM, Hanke K, Huang LL, Abrams D. Are Asian cultures really less ageist than Western ones? It depends on the questions asked. Int J Psychol. 2017;52(2):136-44.
Bateman LB, Schoenberger YM, Hansen B, Osborne TN, Okoro GC, Speights KM, et al. Confronting COVID-19 in under-resourced, African American neighborhoods: a qualitative study examining community member and stakeholders' perceptions. Ethn Health. 2021;26(1):49-67.
Cervantes L, Martin M, Frank MG, Farfan JF, Kearns M, Rubio LA, et al. Experiences of Latinx Individuals Hospitalized for COVID-19: A Qualitative Study. JAMA Netw Open. 2021;4(3):e210684.
Rhodes SD, Mann-Jackson L, Alonzo J, Garcia M, Tanner AE, Smart BD, et al. A Rapid Qualitative Assessment of the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on a Racially/Ethnically Diverse Sample of Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men who Have Sex with Men Living with HIV in the US South. AIDS Behav. 2021;25(1):58-67.
Iacono G, Craig SL, Pascoe R. Critical reflections and reflexivity on responding to the needs of LGBTQ+ youth in a global pandemic. Qual Soc Work. 2021;20(1-2):479-86.
Parlak S, Celebi Cakiroglu O, Oksuz Gul F. Gender roles during COVID-19 pandemic: The experiences of Turkish female academics. Gend Work Organ. 2021;28(2):461-83.
Safdar M, Yasmin M. COVID-19: A threat to educated Muslim women's negotiated identity in Pakistan. Gender, Work & Organization. 2020;27(5):683-94.
Brandon DT, Isaac LA, LaVeist TA. The legacy of Tuskegee and trust in medical care: is Tuskegee responsible for race differences in mistrust of medical care? Journal of the National Medical Association. 2005;97(7):951.
Wang K, Wong EL, Cheung AW, Yau PS, Chung VC, Wong CH, et al. Influence of Vaccination Characteristics on COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance Among Working-Age People in Hong Kong, China: A Discrete Choice Experiment. Front Public Health. 2021;9:793533.
Schlegel EC, Tate JA, Pickler RH, Smith LH. Practical strategies for qualitative inquiry in a virtual world. J Adv Nurs. 2021;77(10):4035-44.
Enria L, Waterlow N, Rogers NT, Brindle H, Lal S, Eggo RM, et al. Trust and transparency in times of crisis: Results from an online survey during the first wave (April 2020) of the COVID-19 epidemic in the UK. PloS One. 2021;16(2):e0239247.
Ezeibe CC, Ilo C, Ezeibe EN, Oguonu CN, Nwankwo NA, Ajaero CK, et al. Political distrust and the spread of COVID-19 in Nigeria. Glob Public Health. 2020;15(12):1753-66.
