This course focuses on qualitative health systems research. Participants gain experience in each step of the qualitative research process and learn ways to enhance the utilisation of research results.

In health systems policy makers, managers and service providers need to be able to select appropriate research methods to better understand and address the problems they face. This course discusses which methods to use to answer different health system research questions. The course specifically focuses on qualitative research methods.

You will gain experience in each step of the research process through the development of your own research proposal, through practical exercises, and by appraising a research proposal.
Attention is also paid to enhance the use of research results by policy makers, managers, health care providers, civil society and clients.

Objectives

At the end of the module/session the participants should be able to:

• Explain the most important differences in concepts, paradigms and application of quantitative and qualitative research methodologies in health systems research
• Clearly formulate research objectives based on a problem statement
• Select an appropriate mix of qualitative research methods and develop corresponding tools to investigate public health issues
• Conduct well-structured focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews with a variety of respondents
• Formulate a feasible, consistent and logical small scale qualitative research proposal related to a public health problem in a specific low-income country
• Propose an outline of a research report and strategies to disseminate research results to different target groups for use in practice
• Critically assess whether a proposed research design is suitable to answer a research question

This course is tropEd accredited and can be followed as a stand-alone course or as part of the Master in International Health or the Master of Public Health programmes.