Biometrics

TSW Holistic Health & Medicine (ISSN 1749-494X)

Article Details

tag at del.icio.us Bookmark this Article Post a Comment Email a friend print document Home  
 
 
  Title: Quali-Quantitative Analysis (QQA): Why It Could Open New Frontiers for Holistic Health Practice
  Authors:   Bell, Erika  
  Journal:   TSW Holistic Health & Medicine  
  Year:   2006  
  Volume:   1  
  Page Range:   321-331  
  Article Type:   Research Article  
  Handling Editor:   Joav Merrick  
  Domains:    Holistic Health & Medicine  
  DOI:   10.1100/tswhhm.2006.271  
? Article clouds not enabled. Press the image to enable for this session.
  Keywords:   research methodology, holistic health practice, whole-of-patient approaches, Australia  
     
 
      Order Article [Related TSW Articles] [Export to EndNote] [Open Choice]  
     

 
      Abstract  
      Holistic health practice is often described as being about understanding the larger contexts of patients, their health services, and their communities. Yet do traditional quantitative and qualitative health research methods produce the best possible evidence for the holistic practices of doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals? This paper argues “no”, and examines the potential of a cutting-edge, social science research method — Quali-Quantitative Research (QQA) — for providing better evidence for holistic practice, particularly in small-N populations, such as rural and remote communities. It does so with reference to the international literature on holistic medicine, as well as three holistic health projects conducted in Tasmania: about prevention of falls in older people, adolescent substance abuse, and interventions for children aged 0–5 exposed to domestic violence. The findings suggest that much health research fails to capture rigorously the contextual complexity of holistic health challenges: the multiple different needs of individual patients, and the interprofessional approaches needed to deliver multidisciplinary and multiservice health interventions tailored to meet those needs in particular community contexts. QQA offers a “configurational”, case-based, diversity-oriented approach to analysing data that combines qualitative and quantitative techniques to overcome the limitations of both research traditions. The author concludes that QQA could open new frontiers for holistic health by helping doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals answer a fundamental question presented by complex health challenges: “Given this set of whole-of-patient needs, what elements of which interventions in what services would work best in this particular community?”  
     
Related articles in:
 
     

 
     
              Post Your Comment Post a Comment
 
     
Post your comments about this paper
No need to register
All comment submissions are monitored. The editor reserves the right to amend or delete any comment. Please ensure your have provided your correct email address: You will receive an email with a link enabling you to edit your comment. Do not use this blog to order this article.
 
Your Full Name:
Your Contact Email:

Please ensure you have provided your correct email address

Comments:
  This Is CAPTCHA Image
For security reasons please enter
the numbers you see in the figure above:
   
 
         
     
tag at del.icio.us Bookmark this Article Post a Comment Email a friend print document Home