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. 2022 Dec;28(1):118-124.
doi: 10.1080/13814788.2022.2053106.

Series: Practical guidance to qualitative research. Part 6: Longitudinal qualitative and mixed-methods approaches for longitudinal and complex health themes in primary care research

Irene Korstjens  1 , Albine Moser  2   3
Affiliations

Series: Practical guidance to qualitative research. Part 6: Longitudinal qualitative and mixed-methods approaches for longitudinal and complex health themes in primary care research

Irene Korstjens et al. Eur J Gen Pract. 2022 Dec.

Abstract

This article, the sixth in a series aiming to provide practical guidance for qualitative research in primary care, introduces two approaches for addressing longitudinal and complex health themes in primary care research. The first approach - longitudinal qualitative research - supports the study of change during the life course. The second approach - mixed-methods research - integrates quantitative and qualitative research to gain new insights to address the complex and multifaceted themes in primary care.We discuss the context, what, why, when and how of these approaches and their main practical and methodological challenges. We provide examples of empirical studies using these approaches and sources for further reading.

Keywords: Primary care; longitudinal qualitative research; mixed-methods research.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

References

    1. Moser A, Korstjens I.. Series: practical guidance to qualitative research. Part 1: introduction. Eur J Gen Pract. 2017;23(1):271–273. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Korstjens I, Moser A.. Series: practical guidance to qualitative research. Part 2: context, research questions and designs. Eur J Gen Pract. 2017;23(1):274–279. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Moser A, Korstjens I.. Series: practical guidance to qualitative research. Part 3: sampling, data collection and analysis. Eur J Gen Pract. 2018;24(1):9–18. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Korstjens I, Moser A.. Series: practical guidance to qualitative research. Part 4: trustworthiness and publishing. Eur J Gen Pract. 2018;24(1):120–124. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Moser A, Korstjens I. Series: practical guidance to qualitative research. Part 5: co-creative qualitative approaches for emerging themes in primary care research: experience-based co-design, user-centred design and community-based participatory research. Eur J Gen Pract. 2022;28(1):1–12. - PMC - PubMed

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