VP28 The Use Of Ethnographic Fieldwork In Health Technology Assessment

Abstract

INTRODUCTION:

The aim of the study was to introduce ethnographic fieldwork (1), including participant-observation and ethnographic interviews. Ethnographic fieldwork is a robust research methodology to study patients experiences and perspectives and, therefore, particularly valuable for Health Technology Assessment (HTA). Conducting ethnographic fieldwork requires that the researcher joins the people under study where they live or work for a period of time to observe and experience their everyday life and grasp their point of view in relation to the assessment of a health technology.

METHODS:

The presentation focuses on ethnographic fieldwork with participant-observation and ethnographic interviews. In relation to HTA, fieldwork can be highly relevant in order to understand the social world of the patients, for instance how they perceive and act in relation to a health technology. Furthermore fieldnotes, considerations on the analytic process and the production of knowledge will be a focus in the presentation.

RESULTS:

We argue, that a small fieldwork study based on participant-observation can do much more than just act as supplements to differents forms of interviews. We demonstrate that in the production of an HTA, patient knowledge should not depend on or prioritize one method like interviews or recorded talks. We show the importance of good fieldnotes in the process of analysis together with a discussion of the production of knowledge.

CONCLUSIONS:

To explore patients perspectives is thus not to identify one ’true’ perspective through an individual interview. Patients perspectives and experiences are emerging, relational and shifting. Therefore, there is a need for enhancing methodological and epistemological reflections and discussions about future development of ethnographic fieldwork in relation to HTA and patient involvement. The potential use of ethnographic fieldwork including participant-observation and ethnographic interviews will be highly relevant in relation to the assessment of new screening procedures, tele-health solutions, and collaboration between different sectors such as hospitals, municipalities and general practice. Furthermore, ethnographic fieldwork would be of importance for exploring how technology is working in local settings.