Systematic reviews of qualitative research

Abstract

Systematic reviews have become an important component of evidence-based health care. To date, these reviews have focused predominantly on randomized controlled trials to determine the effectiveness of treatments. However, there is a growing interest in reviews of qualitative research to summarize research addressing a phenomenon of interest or to supplement evidence generated by randomized controlled trials. These reviews have the potential to make an important contribution because they can bring the person s perspective in to the decision making process. Like all systematic reviews, optimal methods for reviewing qualitative research are still evolving, however published reviews demonstrate considerable variability in their approach. Despite their potential usefulness there has been little professional discussion and debate. This paper presents the current methods used for the review of qualitative studies and highlights some areas in need of further exploration.