qualitative research

[Laurel and Rick]

Hi Judi

One added benefit about OST that I'd mention with this research team (one
that I have talked about exhaustively in designing OST events in health
care) is that the process is health enhancing in and of itself.  I'm sure
you're familiar with the wide body of literature that cites social
connectedness, self-determination and the ability to be heard as important
factors in health and well-being.  Despite the meager data supporting OST
for this type of qualitative research, I think that those brave enough to
tread new ground will be richly rewarded.  One of the things that bugs me
about academia (and researchers in general) is that the research process
demands data to support the method . . . so how does anything NEW ever get
tested????  I ran up against this in doing my MA thesis - having to justify
a method that I knew would not only provide rich data, but be health
enhancing in and of itself.  It was well worth the angst!  (Interestingly,
that's how I stumbled across and was smitten by OST . . . trying to justify
another method . . . but that's another story.)

I have done several health care OST events, some ongoing OST cycles that
lasted several months.  One such event, where the object was simply data
collection, was for hospice.  The hospice team wanted to ask other health
providers what hospice could do to assist them when they cared for people
with terminal illness.  We held a series of OST events asking the question
"How can hospice help you to provide the best care possible for terminally
ill people?" (the series approach seems to work best in health care, where
sometimes the "right people" with passion for the topic are on shift and
unable to attend).  There were many surprises, some very clear themes and
even some immediately implementable plans (like creating a roving hospice
consulting team available to every level of health provider from long term
care to acute care to community health).  The results of this research were
collated and analysed by a hired consultant, and certainly put into a
written report.  While this may have been published, I don't really think it
was, as the intent of the research was to provide practical solutions to
real issues.

Another event was for perinatal care.  This included all the stakeholders,
from care providers to families to interested citizens.  The community had
recieved a sizable donation for perinatal care, and wanted to find out how
best to apply the funds.  Grandmothers, pregnant teens and new parents spoke
as eloquently as perinatologists.  Everyone had HUGE passion to ensure that
the money would be spent wisely.  Again, a consultant collated the data and
wrote up the findings to the committee allocating funding (and, yes,
committee members did attend the event), but again, I doubt that this was
published anywhere.

The answer to why we don't see a lot of OST in academic research may be
because it is generally used to provide practical solutions to real world
problems - the actions are more important than the publication.  The focus
is on the data, not the method of collection!

Laurel.

PS -  further to our off-line conversation, I've called Caroline and asked
her to contact you directly - I think she knows of others who have published
research using OST as the method, as well.


----- Original Message -----
From: "Judi Richardson" <Richarjl at akerley.nscc.ns.ca>
To: <OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU>
Sent: Tuesday, April 30, 2002 6:30 AM
Subject: qualitative research


> Hi all — I had mentioned a health group looking to use OST as a
> research methodology.  Here is a more focused look at what they are
> trying to achieve — it might spark a few ideas!  For instance, has
> anyone done OST with pharmaceutical companies — this could assist them
> in the proposal development.
>
> This is an interdisciplinary research group, developing a study to
> examine the pain experience of women having oocyte retrieval (part of
> invitro fertilization). They want to hear women's voices and believe OST
> is a technique that will enable women to share their stories and
> identify strategies to assist with pain control. However, we have been
> unable to find any supporting data for the use of OST within the medical
> and nursing literature. We need to find supporting data (published, or
> research in progress) that has used OST for their research design. This
> is necessary, to move forward with funding and approval by both
> qualitative and quantitative reviewers.
>
> Thanks and have a great day.
>
> Judi
>
> In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities;
> in the expert's mind, there are few.  (Suzuki Roshi, 1970)
>
>
> Judith L. Richardson
> Pono Consultants International
> Facilitating the Flow of Inspired Collaboration
> www.ponoconsultants.com
> 902-435-0308
>
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