Qualitative methods are increasingly used within health economics research, but there is almost no specific material to guide the use of these methods in this context; there is very little that links them to the specific questions that (health) economists ask or that provides guidance on analyzing from an 'economic' or 'resource-focused' perspective. Whilst the main themes within the book will look very similar to those in many other texts on qualitative research methods, they will: *Apply the concepts familiar from qualitative methods to health economics issues in a way that is meaningful in this specific context; *Work within an economic analytical approach where the analytic focus is on issues around scarcity and resource allocation; Incorporate examples that are relevant to health economists grappling with resource allocation problems in health care.
Introduction: Why use qualitative methods in health economics? Joanna Coast / Part 1: Choices about methods / 1. Theoretical positions and methodological choices, Joanna Coast and Louise Jackson / 2. Designing qualitative research studies in health economics, Joanna Coast, Amanda Owen-Smith and Philip Kinghorn / 3. Understanding sampling, Amanda Owen-Smith and Joanna Coast / 4. Understanding data collection: interviews, focus groups and observation, Amanda Owen-Smith and Joanna Coast / 5. Understanding primary data analysis, Joanna Coast and Louise Jackson / 6. Understanding secondary data analysis, Hareth Al-Janabi and Amanda Owen-Smith / 7. Presenting qualitative data for health economics, Joanna Coast / Part II: Empirical case studies / A. Using qualitative methods to improve quantitative economic methods / 8. Qualitative methods in discrete choice experiments: two case studies , Jane Vosper, Joanna Coast and Terry Flynn/ 9. Using qualitative methods to develop a preference based health related quality of life measure for use in economic evaluation - the development of the Child Health Utility 9D, Katherine Stevens / 10. Constructing statement sets for use in Q methodology studies, Rachel Baker, Neil McHugh and Helen Mason / 11. Using non-participant observation and think-aloud to understand and improve modelling processes, Samantha Husband, Sue Jowett, Pelham Barton and Joanna Coast / 12. Incorporating novel qualitative methods within health economics: the use of pictorial tools, Alastair Canaway, Hareth Al-Janabi, Philip Kinghorn, Cara Bailey, and Joanna Coast / B. Using qualitative methods to improve understanding of quantitative economic findings / 13. Using think-aloud to understand measure completion, Cara Bailey, Philip Kinghorn and Joanna Coast / 14. Getting beyond the numbers: using qualitative methods to explore the validity of health state valuation techniques, Suzanne Robinson / 15. Use of deliberative methods to facilitate and enhance understanding of the weighting of survey attributes, Philip Kinghorn, Alastair Canaway, Cara Bailey and Joanna Coast / C: using qualitative methods to improve economic understanding / 16. Contributions of qualitative methods to the study of priority setting and resource allocation in health care, Neale Smith / 17. Using cost-effectiveness evidence in making priority gradings - the case of the Swedish national guidelines for heart diseases Nathalie Eckhard and Ann-Charlotte Nedlund / 18. Using qualitative methods in impact evaluation - the case of the results-based financing for maternal and neonatal care impact evaluation in Malawi Manuela De Allegri / 19. An assessment of an international declaration on aid effectiveness through qualitative methods at the country level Melisa Martinez-Alvarez / Conclusion: Moving forward - issues in qualitative methods in health economics, Joanna Coast and colleagues
