Conducting Qualitative Research under Pandemic Restrictions - Considerations, Challenges, and Benefits: A Methodological Field Report.

BACKGROUND

The Covid-19 pandemic has a significant impact on professionals working in the medical area, with very high workload and tightened safety restrictions for physicians, nurses, caregivers, and patients. One of the main target participants in health services research are medical professionals. Their experiences contribute immensely to any research project aiming to improve delivery and quality of care. Furthermore, their input gives significantly greater insights into the handling of the pandemic and into what future improvements should be considered. In our research project ADAPTIVE (Impact of Digital Technologies in Palliative Care) we evaluate with qualitative research methods the impact of a web-based software on communication, teamwork, and lasting transformations in accountability in multidisciplinary teams (e. g., medication and independent decisions). In this paper, we discuss the challenges and benefits of conducting a qualitative research project under pandemic conditions by illustrating the progress of ADAPTIVE.

METHODS

ADAPTIVE started in March 2020 and ended in August 2021. For data collection, we interviewed 26 participants about using a web-based program to facilitate the exchange of patient information in multidisciplinary teams in outpatient palliative care in Germany (mainly physicians and nurses). However, due to emerging hygiene regulations, corona-related restrictions, and the ongoing workload of medical professionals, the recruiting and interviewing process were challenging. Hence, we had to modify the original study design of two face-to-face interviews per participant and a focus group discussion into one telephone interview. The focus groups were cancelled.

RESULTS

We discussed several adjustments to the data collection. However, the privacy policies of different clinics, participants' lack of experience with video calls, and a potential poor internet connectivity eliminated the option of digital video interviewing. Therefore, we interviewed 21 participants by telephone and only five face-to-face. Further, the focus group discussions initially planned had to be dropped since a simultaneous gathering of the participants was not possible due to several reasons. Nonetheless, we obtained many insights into the usage of digital support systems in palliative care by conducting 26 interviews, allowing us to complete the research project.

DISCUSSION

Telephone interviews come with limitations. Firstly, it may be difficult for participants to establish a trusting relationship with the interviewer. Secondly, non-verbal communication is lost during a telephone interview. However, expanding the survey methodology to include telephone interviews gave us the option of allowing us to expand the recruitment nationwide and overcome issues successfully.

CONCLUSIONS

Recruitment and data collection showed to be more time-consuming under pandemic circumstances, and further survey methods such as focus groups were nearly impossible. However, a qualitative research design offers greater flexibility when adapting study designs.