How are qualitative methods used in diabetes research? A 30-year systematic review
Abstract
We aimed to describe how qualitative methods are used in global research on diabetes and identify opportunities whereby qualitative methods could further benefit our understanding of the human experience of diabetes and interventions to address it. We conducted a systematic review of National Library of Medicine, EMBASE, and Web of Science electronic databases to identify original research articles that used qualitative methods to study diabetes between 1980 and 2011. We identified 554 eligible articles and categorised these by geographic region, year of publication, study population, study design, research question, qualitative data collection methods, and journal type. Results show low use of qualitative methods in diabetes research over the past 30 years. The majority of articles (75%) reported using substantive qualitative research, while mixed-methods research has remained underutilised. Eighty-five per cent of articles reported studies conducted in North America or Europe, with few studies in developing countries. Most articles reported recruiting clinic-based populations (58%). Over half (54%) of research questions focused on patient experience and 24% on diabetes management. Qualitative methods can provide important insights about socio-cultural aspects of disease to improve disease management. However, they remain underutilised for understanding the diabetes experience, especially in Africa and Asia and amongst non-clinic populations.
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Few reviewed studies considered how digital literacy, age, or socioeconomic status may hinder access and engagement with mHealth interventions.
“Few studies considered how digital literacy, age, or socioeconomic status may hinder access and engagement with mHealth interventions [42,43].”
From Methodological Approaches in Studying Type-2 Diabetes-Related Health Behaviors—A Systematic Review (2025) · cites this paper as [42]
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Methodological Approaches in Studying Type-2 Diabetes-Related Health Behaviors—A Systematic Review
Khandoker, F., & Grigsby, T. J. (2025) · Applied Sciences · doi:10.3390/app151910567 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
- Authors
- Hennink, M. M., Kaiser, B. N., Sekar, S., Griswold, E. P., & Ali, M. K.
- Affiliations
- Emory University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Hennink, Monique M.
- Venue
- Global Public Health
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2016-01-13
- Volume
- 12
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 200-219
- ISSN
- 1744-1692 (ISSN-L)
- 1744-1706
- OpenAlex
- W2238552548
- Cited by
- 28
- References
- 69
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 6 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 2
- FWCI
- 1.29
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Global Public Health (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- U.S. National Library of Medicine
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Education › Qualitative Research Methods and Applications
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Diabetes Management and Education
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Diabetes Management and Research
- Keywords
- diabetes research, qualitative research, patient experience, diabetes management, mixed methods, international research trends, developing countries
- MeSH terms
- Diabetes Mellitus, Health Services Research, Humans, Research Design, Qualitative Research, Culturally Competent Care, Sociological Factors
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