Cross-national qualitative research: the development and application of an analytic framework in the Mental Health and Poverty Project

Abstract

Cross-national qualitative research is an increasingly common approach to health system research. Whilst cross-national qualitative research presents many challenges, the benefits include the development of new perspectives and the opportunity to work with people from different backgrounds and develop capacity. In particular, qualitative data analysis must be scientifically robust, balancing comparability with context-driven research, and must be collaborative and incorporate capacity development. The Mental Health and Poverty Project employed a three-stage approach to cross-national qualitative research, consisting of development of a common structure in a workshop, adaptation by country teams and ongoing support. Through this process, the project developed broad thematic frameworks which were adapted by each study country and used as a skeleton for the data analysis. This paper critically reflects on the approach employed and reports the experiences of researchers throughout the analysis process. The paper concludes with lessons learned for cross-national, qualitative research projects.

Keywords:

• qualitative methods
• comparative
• cross-national
• mental health
• Africa

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by funding provided by the Department for International Development (DFID), UK, for a Research Programme Consortium entitled ‘The Mental Health and Poverty Project (MHaPP): mental health policy development and implementation in four African countries' (DFID contract number: RPC HD6 2005–2010). The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of DFID. The authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions for the paper.