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Introduction to ethnographic research practice in healthcare settings training course

This page provides information about our 'Introduction to ethnographic research practice in healthcare settings' training course

Course summary

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the ethnographic research endeavour.  It focuses on current understandings of ethnography and their origins, ethics and access in healthcare settings, ethnographic research design, observational and interview-based methods of data collection, data management, analysis, and the written account.  The course combines brief presentations, group discussions and “hands on” activities.

Course aims

  1. Introduce participants to the fundamentals of ethnography
  2. Discuss the tensions and pragmatic concerns implied in ethnographic research in healthcare settings
  3. Equip participants with the capabilities of designing and conducting an ethnographic research project in healthcare settings
  4. Discuss ways of presenting ethnographic data in article format

Course content

  • Brief history of ethnography in healthcare settings
  • Key ethical and practical considerations in ethnographies of health, illness and care
  • Overview of research design and discussions of access to study sites and populations
  • Overview of data collection methods, especially participant observation
  • Ethnographic data analysis and the written ethnographic account

About the instructors

Dr Henry Llewellyn

Dr Henry Llewellyn is a research fellow in the UCL Marie Curie Palliative Care Research Department.  His doctoral project examined brain tumour care and treatment in the UK.  This ethnography traced how people with progressive disease navigate complex treatment decisions under conditions of radical change—bodily and institutional.  His postdoctoral project continues this work by ethnographically charting the social implications of new technologies in cancer.  He is a co-founder and committee member of the QHRN.

Dr Georgia Black

Dr Georgia Black is a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Applied Health Research. Her work covers early diagnosis of cancer, stroke, major system change and methods for quality improvement.  Georgia is a co-founder and committee member of the QHRN.

Sébastien Libert

Sébastien Libert (not present for December 4th course) is a PhD student at University College London with a MSc in Medical Anthropology.  His current research explores the role that technologies play in the social exclusion of people with dementia, as part of the Interdisciplinary Network for Dementia Using Current Technologies (INDUCT).  Sébastien is a committee member of the QHRN.