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| Mike Saks and Judith Allsop |
Chapter 6 - Participant Observation
in Health Research
David Hughes |
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| Contributor
biography |
| David Hughes is Professor of Health
Policy in the School of Health Science at the Swansea
University, UK. His doctoral research involved an observational
study of work in an accident and emergency department.
Subsequently, he carried out observational studies in
such settings as: hospital cardiology departments; a hospital
ward, residential homes, schools and training establishments
for people with learning disabilities; a regional neurological
assessment centre; and a range of NHS management settings.
More recently, he has developed his interest in ‘policy
ethnography’ by completing a study of the implementation
of Thailand’s universal coverage health care reforms. |
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| Chapter overview |
| This chapter examines the characteristics
of participant observation and the types of study that
have been carried out in health care settings. It looks
at the strengths and weaknesses of the method, the approaches
and techniques for collecting, coding and analyzing data
and identifying and writing up findings. |
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| Chapter links |
Chapter
5 - Unstructured Interviews and Health Research
Chapter 15 - Governance and
Ethics in Health Research |
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| Suggested
Online Readings |
| Allan,
H, T. (2006) ‘Using Participant Observation to Immerse
Oneself in the Field. The Relevance and Importance of
Ethnography for Illuminating the Role of Emotions in Nursing
Practice’, Journal of Research in Nursing,
11 (5): 397-407. |
| This paper draws on the findings of
an ethnographic study of fertility nursing in a British
fertility unit to explore the role of emotions in nursing
practice. Infertility is an emotional experience for both
staff and patients, and the study found that the unit
was organized to maintain privacy and to control potentially
disruptive emotions. The paper also discusses the nature
of the data in ethnographic studies, reflexivity and ethnographic
authority. |
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| Fisher,
B.J. and Peterson, C. (1993) ‘She won't be Dancing
Much Anyway: A Study of Surgeons, Surgical Nurses, and
Elderly Patients’, Qualitative Health Research,
3 (2): 165-83. |
| This research examined how the interpersonal
dynamics between surgeons and surgical nurses in the operating
room and their attitudes toward elderly patients affected
the quality of care delivered. Qualitative data were gathered
through in-depth interviews and participant observation
in an operating room. The findings indicate that surgeons
have a strong influence on how surgical personnel treat
patients during surgery. The surgeon's ultimate control
and unquestioned authority combined with depersonalization
of patients created a situation where the quality of care
could be compromised. Specialized training and shared
governance of the operating room were recommended to overcome
this problem. |
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| Muller,
J. H. (1995) ‘Care of the Dying by Physicians- in-Training:
An Example of Participant Observation Research’,
Research on Aging, 17: 65-88. |
| This paper discusses how participant
observation studies have been used in aging research in
various settings in the United States. The benefits of
participant observation include flexibility of research
design, the perspective of the "insider," the
inclusion of context, the experience of "being there"
day after day, and an understanding of changes over time.
These benefits are illustrated by examples drawn from
a participant observation study of physicians-in-training
and their interactions with dying elderly patients. The
types of inquiry in the field of aging that could benefit
from participant observation research are also explored.
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| Further Reading |
| Allen, D., Griffiths, L. and Lyne,
P. (2004) ‘Accommodating Health and Social Care
Needs: Routine Resource Allocation in Stroke Rehabilitation’,
Sociology of Health and Illness, 26(4): 411-32. |
| This is an example of the use of PO
in a policy-oriented study of resource allocation at the
boundaries of health and social care. |
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| Griffiths, L. and Hughes, D. (2000)
‘Talking Contracts and Taking Care: Managers and
Professionals in the NHS Internal Market’, Social
Science and Medicine, 51: 209-22. |
| This illustrates the use of PO and
its application to the topical issue of management/professional
relations. |
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| Timmermans, S. (1999) Sudden Death
and the Myth of CPR. Philadelphia: Temple University
Press. |
| This is a modern PO study in mainstream
treatment settings, which uses the classic approach. |
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© Sage Publications Ltd.
