Qualitative methods for intervention research

Abstract

KEY WORDS: qualitative research methods, social science, intervention research, disease prevention I NTROD UCTl 0 NThe recent Workshop on Intervention Research held by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) signals the beginning of an increased agency emphasis on this kind of research effort, underscoring NIOSH's direct contribution to improving public health. Through well-constructed field research on the process and outcomes of worksite-based health and safety programs, NIOSH can play an active role in shaping the way scientific knowledge about occupational hazards is actually used to protect the health of workers. In the process. the agency may help in a direct and visible way to reduce the enormous cost burden [Institute of Medicine, 1981; Landrigan and Markowitz, 1987; Bresnitz et al., 19901 presently imposed on the U.S. economy by preventable occupational illness and injury.However, the new emphasis will involve more than simply applying familiar quantitative research methods in new field settings. Many important intervention research questions cannot be answered satisfactorily by measuring and counting, no matter how precise and intricate the data collection and analysis. Far more than most laboratory and epidemiologic studies, intervention research requires a qunlitative understanding of the social meanings and social relationships that make up the study environment, in order to clarify possible explanations for the quantitative findings and to suggest new interpretations and lines of inquiry.In occupational health, quantitative methods have been emphasized far more than other research strategies, with the result that many scientists feel on uncertain ground when faced with the challenge of developing qualitative insight [Strong, 1992;Holman, 1993; Black, 19941. The purpose of the present article is to make this kind of research easier to understand by providing an overview, along with selected references for further exploration.The article first describes a number of ways that qualitative methods can be useful for sound intervention research. Next, it contrasts the basic premises of qualitative and quantitative methods on four fundamental issues: ( I ) the way reality is defined, (2) the preferred focus of data collection, (3) the use of pre-existing data, and (4) the approach to achieving research rigor. The paper then offers a brief review of some specific techniques in qualitative re-0 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

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“…For example, a quantitative researcher might use a factory record as if it were representative of what actually happens in the workplace, whereas a qualitative researcher might interpret it as one of the ways that people in a factory view their work environment (Needleman and Needleman, 1996). Because there is no external referent with which to gauge what the truth is, there is no interest in assessing the record as representative of the one and only reality in the workplace.…”

Perceived risks for slipping and falling at work during wintertime and criteria for a slip-resistant winter shoe among Swedish outdoor workers

“…However it has been emphasized that intervention research aimed at accident prevention requires a qualitative understanding of the social meanings and social relationships that make up the study environment in order to clarify possible explanations for the quantitative findings (Needleman 1996, Baril-Gingras 2006. In the present study the method of focus group interviews was chosen to gather qualitative data.…”

Methodological issues in evaluating workplace interventions to reduce work-related musculoskeletal disorders through mechanical exposure reduction

“…Although the dominant evaluation paradigm is quantitative, education and management researchers have used case study approaches for many years to capture the complex sets of relationships that define change in organizations (34,35). Qualitative methods are associated with different views of evidence and different ways of establishing rigor (36). Mergler (37) has called for greater use of qualitative approaches in occupational health research, while some organizational scientists argue that "standardized questionnaires, structured interviews, and statistical analyses cannot begin to grasp the complex fabric of organizational change [p 92]" (38).…”