Qualitative research methods have become widely accepted in health services research over the past two decades. Despite their established use in healthcare settings, some authors have expressed concern that the research is not always conducted robustly. There is considerable potential to use qualitative methods in hospital pharmacy to attempt to make sense of, or interpret, many of the issues that are important to patients and healthcare systems alike. Understanding better the meanings that people bring to these issues has the potential to inform practitioners and policy makers alike, and may help to improve current services delivered. This interactive workshop run by experienced qualitative researchers will aim to: provide case studies to help explore the process of qualitative research in pharmacy practice; encourage discussion among workshop participants on the potential to use qualitative research in their own practice and help participants put qualitative research methods into practice in a robust and credible way.

Teaching goals:

• encourage discussion among workshop participants on the potential to use qualitative research in their own practice
• help participants put qualitative research methods into practice in a robust and credible way

Learning objectives:

After the workshop the participant should:

• gain insight into the types of research questions that qualitative research can answer
• have a greater understanding and awareness of how qualitative research methods can be used in healthcare research
• have an overview of the qualitative research process, how to design and conduct a project using these methods and how to ensure the robustness of research conducted