Resumo

In this seminar, Professor Groleau will present: 1) a short and general introduction to qualitative research from an ontological, epistemological and methodological perspectives and; 2) the challenges in qualitative research to influence decision makers and health policy ; 3) a short presentation on the MINI as it was used in a study aiming at understanding illness meaning and experience of post-infarct patients from Canada that experience difficulties adhering to treatment. Professor Groleau will also present  a qualitative design, the SCQD, which addresses the issue of influence on decision makers and health policy.

References:
Groleau et al. (2009) Enhancing Generalizability: Moving From an Intimate to a Political Voice. Qual Health Res.; 19: 416-426
Abstract of paper: Weak external validity of qualitative data has been a subject of debate outside and within the field of qualitative health research. Though some narratives have the power to reveal universal existential issues and inform theoretical development, each story remains unique and cannot be generalized. If the goal of qualitative researchers is to have narrative knowledge effect social change, we are faced with a pervasive problem. Our main objective with this article is methodological; that is, to argue and illustrate that a sequential—consensual qualitative design (SCQD) can yield data with adequate external validity to influence clinicians and public health programming. We seek to contribute to the debate on the generalizability of qualitative research in the health field and provide a methodological template for this type of qualitative design so researchers can apply it to future projects to transfer and translate popular knowledge in a way that can influence social change.

2010  Groleau, D., et al. Spiritual Reconfiguration of Self After a Myocardial Infarction: influence of culture and place. Health & Place, 16 : 853-860.
Abstract of paper: This study explored illness narratives following a myocardial infarction (MI) in French Canadians. Qualitative interviews were completed using the McGill Illness Narrative Interview with 51 patients following a first MI. Content analysis of interviews suggested that the heart was perceived as a receptacle that contained an accumulation of life’s ordeals, negative emotions and family traumas. This resulted in perceived heart strain, which was considered a direct cause of the MI. References to spirituality were central to the patients’ narratives and were identified as instrumental in post-MI recovery. Results illustrate how place and culture interact to shape illness experience and recovery trajectories after a life-threatening health event.

Nota biográfica

Danielle Groleau is a medical anthropologist with a PhD in Public Health and post-doctoral training in Transcultural Psychiatry. She is currently an associate professor in the Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry at McGill University and senior investigator at the Culture & Mental Health Research Unit of the Jewish General Hospital.  Danielle’s expertise is in illness meaning and experience  determinants of health behavior, mainly in vulnerable populations. She teaches 2 courses in qualitative methods at McGill. She has innovated in the development of new qualitative interview tools and mix-design to address knowledge translation of research results to public health stakeholders while fostering a participatory approach to guide policy makers. She is an internationally and locally recognized expert in these areas, and has received numerous international invitations by Universities in Asia, Latin America and Europe as well as national and international agencies (WHO, PAHO, Government of Québec) for consultation in research and policy. Dr.Groleau supervises graduate students in the departments of psychiatry and family medicine.
 

Atividade no âmbito do programa de doutoramento “Governação, Conhecimento e Inovação” e do Núcleo de Estudos sobre Ciência, Economia e Sociedade (NECES)