Qualitative Health Research
April 2016; 26 (5)
http://qhr.sagepub.com/content/current
Special Issue: Qualitative Contributions to Quantitative Inquiry

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Commentary
Adding Qualitative and Mixed Methods Research to Health Intervention Studies: Interacting With Differences
R. Burke Johnson and Judith Schoonenboom
Qual Health Res April 2016 26: 587-602, first published on December 9, 2015 doi:10.1177/1049732315617479
Abstract
The purpose of this article is to explain how to improve intervention designs, such as randomized controlled trials (RCTs), in health science research using a process philosophy and theory known as dialectical pluralism (DP). DP views reality as plural and uses dialectical, dialogical, and hermeneutical approaches to knowledge construction. Using DP and its “both/and” logic, and its attempt to produce new creative syntheses, researchers on heterogeneous teams can better dialogue with qualitative and mixed methods approaches, concepts, paradigms, methodologies, and methods to improve their intervention research studies. The concept of reflexivity is utilized but is expanded when it is a component of DP. Examples of strategies for identifying, inviting, and creating divergence and integrative strategies for producing strong mixed methods intervention studies are provided and illustrated using real-life examples.

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Essential Qualitative Inquiry in the Development of a Cancer Literacy Measure for Immigrant Women
Lydia P. Buki, Barbara W. K. Yee, Kari A. Weiterschan, and Emaan N. Lehardy
Qual Health Res April 2016 26: 640-648, first published on December 1, 2015 doi:10.1177/1049732315616621
Abstract
In this article, we describe the development of a comprehensive measure of breast and cervical cancer literacy for immigrant populations. To our knowledge, this is the first attempt to use a health literacy framework in this endeavor. Using qualitative strategies, we (a) developed an understanding of the experiences of Mexican and Filipina immigrant women with low health literacy through individual interviews, (b) conducted focus groups to obtain feedback from experts and participants to determine the adequacy of items included in the measure, and (c) refined the set of items to create an empirically based measure. The final measure included 129 items that assess beliefs, attitudes, knowledge, emotions, and contextual factors related to breast and cervical cancer. Processes for adapting the measure for use with other immigrant groups are discussed.

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General Articles
Subjective Experience and Resources for Coping With Stigma in People With a Diagnosis of Schizophrenia: An Intersectional Approach
Jazmín Mora-Rios, Miriam Ortega-Ortega, and Guillermina Natera
Qual Health Res April 2016 26: 697-711, first published on February 10, 2015 doi:10.1177/1049732315570118
Abstract
In this study, we investigate the subjective experience of a group of individuals, diagnosed with schizophrenia, undergoing outpatient treatment in four psychiatric clinics in Mexico City. Our objective is to use the paradigm of intersectionality to explore the most common forms of stigma and discrimination faced by people with this illness, as well as the coping resources they employ. The major contribution of this study is its use of in-depth interviews and thematic analysis of the information obtained to identify the importance of sociocultural aspects of participants’ experience of their illness. Schizophrenia, for them, was a problem of “nerves,” whose origins were linked to magical or religious elements they attributed to their illness and which influenced their response to it. This resignification was useful to participants as a coping resource; it helped them find meaning and significance in their experience of the illness.