What should a paediatrician know about qualitative knowledge synthesis?

Abstract

INTRODUCTION Knowledge synthesis can be defined as “the contextualization and integration of research findings of individual research studies within the larger body of knowledge on the topic”. The synthesis can be done using quantitative and/or qualitative approaches. The development of the qualitative knowledge synthesis methodologies and the rate of their use in the field of health care is growing significantly. That growth is reflected in the substantial increase in the qualitative research literature production. Already in 2015 the Joanna Briggs Institute, an organisation concerned with evidence-based improvement in health-care practices and health outcomes, cautioned that the field of qualitative synthesis entered into the phase, where comparative evaluation research has become necessary.