The voice of people living with COPD: what I learned from doing qualitative research
Dr Amanda McNaughton, one of our MD candidates, has published a beautiful insight from her work on the “Sing your lungs out” initiative, on applying mixed methods qualitative/quantitative research to patients living with COPD.
An excerpt from this:
In quantitative research, the feelings of COPD patients are generally measured by symptom scores such as the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Score (HADS), St Georges Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) and Clinical COPD Questionnaire (CCQ)…I was surprised by how prevalent low levels of literacy were in our cohort—making a mockery of the validity of their scores. This reductionism of humans’ complexity can never adequately represent their health, beliefs, vulnerabilities, goals and desires.
It’s an insightful read for doctors, researchers, and patients alike. You can read the full piece here: