Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33419430›Full record

ArticleBMC health services research2021

Meta-ethnography in healthcare research: a guide to using a meta-ethnographic approach for literature synthesis.

Raabia Sattar, Rebecca Lawton, Maria Panagioti, Judith Johnson

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC health services research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 150 papers, 55 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
150citing papers in PubMed, 55 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

150 citing papers in PubMed, 55 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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  4. Women's Causal Beliefs About Their Pelvic Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Ethnography.Pain practice : the official journal of World Institute of Pain · 2026
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  6. Model Development on Adherence to Aspirin in Pregnancy: A Co-Produced Qualitative Systematic Review and Meta-Ethnography.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2026
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  8. 'Home Is Where You Are Together': Qualitative Systematic Review and Meta-Synthesis of Homeless People's Description of Home.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2026
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90 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Raabia SattarUniversity of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK. ps15rs@leeds.ac.uk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1003-9772
Rebecca LawtonUniversity of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK.
Maria PanagiotiNational Institute of Health Research for Primary Care Research, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK.
Judith JohnsonUniversity of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundQualitative synthesis approaches are increasingly used in healthcare research. One of the most commonly utilised approaches is meta-ethnography. This is a systematic approach which synthesises data from multiple studies to enable new insights into patients' and healthcare professionals' experiences and perspectives. Meta-ethnographies can provide important theoretical and conceptual contributions and generate evidence for healthcare practice and policy. However, there is currently a lack of clarity and guidance surrounding the data synthesis stages and process.

methodThis paper aimed to outline a step-by-step method for conducting a meta-ethnography with illustrative examples.

resultsA practical step-by-step guide for conducting meta-ethnography based on the original seven steps as developed by Noblit & Hare (Meta-ethnography: Synthesizing qualitative studies.,1998) is presented. The stages include getting started, deciding what is relevant to the initial interest, reading the studies, determining how the studies are related, translating the studies into one another, synthesising the translations and expressing the synthesis. We have incorporated adaptations and developments from recent publications. Annotations based on a previous meta-ethnography are provided. These are particularly detailed for stages 4-6, as these are often described as being the most challenging to conduct, but with the most limited amount of guidance available.

conclusionMeta-ethnographic synthesis is an important and increasingly used tool in healthcare research, which can be used to inform policy and practice. The guide presented clarifies how the stages and processes involved in conducting a meta-synthesis can be operationalised.

Indexed as

Anthropology, CulturalHealth Services ResearchHealth PersonnelHumansQualitative ResearchResearch DesignMeta-ethnographyQualitative health researchQualitative synthesisResearch methods

Identifiers

PMID33419430
PMCPMC7796630

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.