ArticleBMC medical research methodology2021
Ethnographic research as an evolving method for supporting healthcare improvement skills: a scoping review.
Article in BMC medical research methodology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 20 papers.
What it found
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed.
- Gender-sensitive and diversity-sensitive end-of-life care in Switzerland (GiveCare): a mixed-methods study protocol.BMJ open · 2026Article
- "They Are Not Going to Be Happy": An Ethnographic Study of the Prioritization of Patients Awaiting Elective Surgery in an Academic Hospital in the Netherlands.Medical decision making : an international journal of the Society for Medical Decision Making · 2026Article
- Uncovering 'Weak signals' through patient journey mapping to inform the future redesign of the medical consultation room.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Putting "what matters to you?" into practice: a focused team-based ethnographic study on goal-oriented care.BMC primary care · 2026Article
- Dual perspectives: Navigating the roles of physician and ethnographer in sensitive spaces.Qualitative research in medicine & healthcare · 2026Article
- Primary school physical activity culture in the UK: findings from a four-month rapid ethnography in three schools.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Article
- Expanding the Design Space for Fall Prevention in Acute Orthopedic Hospital Care: Human-Centered Design Study.JMIR human factors · 2025Article
- Ethnography in Primary Health Care: Theoretical-Methodological Reflections on Pharmaceutical Services.Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Designing context-specific physical activity interventions for English primary schools: key learning from a four-month rapid ethnography.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Barriers and facilitators to optimal sepsis care - a systematized review of healthcare professionals' perspectives.BMC health services research · 2025Review
- Gender Stereotypes and Bias in Nursing: A Qualitative Study in Tanzania.Nursing reports (Pavia, Italy) · 2025Article
- Designing knowledge-driven digitalization: novel recommendations for digitally supported multi-professional collaboration.Frontiers in digital health · 2025Article
- Exploring the policy implementation of a holistic approach to cancer investigation in non-specific symptom pathways in England: An ethnographic study.Journal of health services research & policy · 2025Article
- Identifying Facilitators and Inhibitors of Shared Understanding: An Ethnography of Diagnosis Communication in Acute Medical Settings.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2024Article
- Implementing a new living concept for persons with dementia in long-term care: evaluation of a quality improvement process.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- The Pervasiveness of Power: Dilemmas for Researchers of Major System Change in Healthcare Comment on "'Attending to History' in Major System Change in Healthcare in England: Specialist Cancer Surgery Service Reconfiguration".International journal of health policy and management · 2023Article
- Correction to: Ethnographic research as an evolving method for supporting healthcare improvement skills: a scoping review.BMC medical research methodology · 2022Article
- Using Critical Ethnography to Study Acute Care Clinicians: A Critical Review.Global qualitative nursing researchArticle
- Dysphagia Care Processes on Acute Stroke Wards: An Ethnographic Study of Barriers and Facilitators Relevant to Stroke-Associated Pneumonia.International journal of language & communication disordersArticle
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe relationship between ethnography and healthcare improvement has been the subject of methodological concern. We conducted a scoping review of ethnographic literature on healthcare improvement topics, with two aims: (1) to describe current ethnographic methods and practices in healthcare improvement research and (2) to consider how these may affect habit and skill formation in the service of healthcare improvement.
methodsWe used a scoping review methodology drawing on Arksey and O'Malley's methods and more recent guidance. We systematically searched electronic databases including Medline, PsychINFO, EMBASE and CINAHL for papers published between April 2013 - April 2018, with an update in September 2019. Information about study aims, methodology and recommendations for improvement were extracted. We used a theoretical framework outlining the habits and skills required for healthcare improvement to consider how ethnographic research may foster improvement skills.
resultsWe included 283 studies covering a wide range of healthcare topics and methods. Ethnography was commonly used for healthcare improvement research about vulnerable populations, e.g. elderly, psychiatry. Focussed ethnography was a prominent method, using a rapid feedback loop into improvement through focus and insider status. Ethnographic approaches such as the use of theory and focus on every day practices can foster improvement skills and habits such as creativity, learning and systems thinking.
conclusionsWe have identified that a variety of ethnographic approaches can be relevant to improvement. The skills and habits we identified may help ethnographers reflect on their approaches in planning healthcare improvement studies and guide peer-review in this field. An important area of future research will be to understand how ethnographic findings are received by decision-makers.
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Registered trials
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.