Qualitative evidence synthesis

Qualitative evidence synthesis (QES) offers a method for presenting patients’ attitudes, beliefs, and experiences from multiple qualitative studies. It is used in health technology assessments (HTAs) to understand diverse patient perspectives alongside quantitative evidence of clinical and cost effectiveness. QES methods include meta-aggregation, thematic synthesis, meta-ethnography, and framework synthesis. Factors like research question, available resources, expertise, and data types guide the choice of QES method. QES involves formulating the review question, literature searching, quality assessment, analysis, and synthesis. Dissemination considers the intended audience and purpose. Approaches to integrate qualitative and quantitative data include using mixed-methods synthesis methodologies, conceptual frameworks, or logic models. QES is growing rapidly due to increased recognition of decision-making complexities and the role of patient-clinician interactions in technology effectiveness. Limitations include quality of primary study reporting and interpretive nature. Innovations like GRADE-CERQual offer opportunities for incorporating synthesised patient perspectives in HTAs and decision-making.