Qualitative research in family medicine. An inevitable development.
Health issues in the field of medicine are increasingly complex both from a technological and an organizational standpoint and from a psychological and social standpoint. There are many issues that quantitative research simply cannot answer to our satisfaction. Examples include compliance with treatment for high blood pressure and the health care challenges facing patients with fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, and HIV. The field of medicine itself is also changing; more and more women are choosing a career in medicine and young doctors want to balance their practice with other priorities. To fully understand these issues requires a different kind of thought process and studies that involve qualitative research.