The Critical Incident Technique: Method or Methodology?

Viergever, Roderik F.

doi:10.1177/1049732318813112

Cited by 72 publications

(66 citation statements)

References 68 publications

(204 reference statements)

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“…We used a qualitative study design involving the critical incident technique (CIT), as it was particularly consistent with the study aim (8,9). The CIT is a qualitative methodology (rather than only a method) that involves a flexible set of principles (10). It does not focus on opinions but analyses the context of events.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

General Practitioners' Experiences During the First Phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy: A Critical Incident Technique Study

Kurotschka

Serafini

Demontis³

et al. 2021

Front. Public Health

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Since February 2020, when coronavirus disease began to spread in Italy, general practitioners (GPs) were called to manage a growing number of health situations. The challenges experienced by Italian GPs remained unrevealed. This study aimed at exploring Italian GPs' care experiences and practices associated with critical incidents during the first wave of the pandemic. A qualitative study design involving the critical incident technique through an online survey was applied. Sociodemographic data and open-ended responses were collected. While participants' characteristics were analyzed through descriptive statistics, qualitative data were thematically analyzed employing the framework method. 149 GPs responded to the survey and 99 participants completed the survey (dropout rate = 33%). Eight themes emerged indicating factors related to the organization of the healthcare system and factors related to the clinical management of patients, that were perceived as impacting on the GPs' care provision. The analysis revealed difficulties in communicating with other local services. This, together with the lack of coordination among services, was reported as a major challenge. Primary care was perceived as having been undervalued and criticalities in the organization of GP courses, led in a bureaucratic fashion, posed at risk some trainees to be infected. The digital technologies adopted for remote patient consultations were seen as useful tools for daily practice helping the GPs to stay emotionally connected with their patients. Besides, the improvement in the GP–patient relationship in terms of solidarity between patients and doctors and compliance to rules, had a positive impact. Moreover, many respondents addressed the importance of professional collaboration and teamwork, in terms of both support in practical issues (to find PPE, diagnostics and guidelines) and emotional support. At the same time, the lack of resources (e.g., PPE, swabs) and of specific guidelines and protocols impacted on the care provision. Our findings suggest that GPs in Italy are at risk of being left behind within the epidemic management. Communication and coordination among services are essential and should be substantially improved, and primary care research should be initiated to collect the context-specific evidence necessary to enhance the system's preparedness to public health emergencies and the quality of primary care services.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

General Practitioners' Experiences During the First Phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy: A Critical Incident Technique Study

Kurotschka

Serafini

Demontis³

et al. 2021

Front. Public Health

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“…Critical case method studies a phenomenon in its action context . Using a critical case researchers can define the nature of an incident and its impact on project aims, thereby investigating the factors, behaviours and experiences of those people involved in a critical event . We define a critical case here, as an identified set of assumptions and interactions which challenge any stated rhetoric of what PPI is and does.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Embedding patient and public involvement: Managing tacit and explicit expectations

Poland

Charlesworth

Leung

et al. 2019

Health Expectations

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Background Evidencing well‐planned and implemented patient and public involvement (PPI) in a research project is increasingly required in funding bids and dissemination activities. There is a tacit expectation that involving people with experience of the condition under study will improve the integrity and quality of the research. This expectation remains largely unproblematized and unchallenged. Objective To critically evaluate the implementation of PPI activity, including co‐research in a programme of research exploring ways to enhance the independence of people with dementia. Design Using critical cases, we make visible and explicate theoretical and moral challenges of PPI. Results Case 1 explores the challenges of undertaking multiple PPI roles in the same study making explicit different responsibilities of being a co‐applicant, PPI advisory member and a co‐researcher. Case 2 explores tensions which arose when working with carer co‐researchers during data collection; here the co‐researcher's wish to offer support and advice to research participants, a moral imperative, was in conflict with assumptions about the role of the objective interviewer. Case 3 defines and examines co‐research data coding and interpretation activities undertaken with people with dementia, reporting the theoretical outputs of the activity and questioning whether this was co‐researcher analysis or PPI validation. Conclusion Patient and public involvement activity can empower individual PPI volunteers and improve relevance and quality of research but it is a complex activity which is socially constructed in flexible ways with variable outcomes. It cannot be assumed to be simple or universal panacea for increasing the relevance and accessibility of research to the public.

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“…It has been used as a qualitative methodology in health systems research and is useful in exploring barriers to quality care or to achieving satisfaction with care provision. 19 It involves the analysis of specific incidents to determine what actions or behaviours could 'lead to the best possible outcome of a given situation'. 20 The use of CIT complements KII by drawing on more specific experiences and thereby eliciting richer data for realist enquiry.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why women die after reaching the hospital: a qualitative critical incident analysis of the ‘third delay’ in postconflict northern Uganda

et al. 2021

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ObjectivesTo critically explore and describe the pathways that women who require emergency obstetrics and newborn care (EmONC) go through and to understand the delays in accessing EmONC after reaching a health facility in a conflict-affected setting.DesignThis was a qualitative study with two units of analysis: (1) critical incident technique (CIT) and (2) key informant interviews with health workers, patients and attendants.SettingThirteen primary healthcare centres, one general private-not-for-profit hospital, one regional referral hospital and one teaching hospital in northern Uganda.ParticipantsForty-nine purposively selected health workers, patients and attendants participated in key informant interviews. CIT mapped the pathways for maternal deaths and near-misses selected based on critical case purposive sampling.ResultsAfter reaching the health facility, a pregnant woman goes through a complex pathway that leads to delays in receiving EmONC. Five reasons were identified for these delays: shortage of medicines and supplies, lack of blood and functionality of operating theatres, gaps in staff coverage, gaps in staff skills, and delays in the interfacility referral system. Shortage of medicines and supplies was central in most of the pathways, characterised by three patterns: delay to treat, back-and-forth movements to buy medicines or supplies, and multiple referrals across facilities. Some women also bypassed facilities they deemed to be non-functional.ConclusionOur findings show that the pathway to EmONC is precarious and takes too long even after making early contact with the health facility. Improvement of skills, better management of the meagre human resource and availing essential medical supplies in health facilities may help to reduce the gaps in a facility’s emergency readiness and thus improve maternal and neonatal outcomes.

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The Critical Incident Technique: Method or Methodology?

Cited by 72 publications

References 68 publications

General Practitioners' Experiences During the First Phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy: A Critical Incident Technique Study

General Practitioners' Experiences During the First Phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy: A Critical Incident Technique Study

Embedding patient and public involvement: Managing tacit and explicit expectations

Why women die after reaching the hospital: a qualitative critical incident analysis of the ‘third delay’ in postconflict northern Uganda

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