Course: Qualitative Health Research: BASIC module: Defining and developing qualitative research in public health - 2025

Within public health, there is a growing interest to study and understand human behavior, representations, and individual experiences of those taking part in a studied phenomenon. 

Qualitative designs are the method of choice to address those issues. 

Objectives 

Provide participants with the necessary epistemological and scientific background, as well as a practical training, using tools such as interviews, focus groups, participant/non-participant observation, with a refined in depth use of them. 

This basic module will guide participants in understanding and defining the main specificities of qualitative methods and approaches. It will help them plan and organize the data collection and cross-check computer-assisted thematic coding with peers. 

An emphasis will be put on the importance of the theoretical frameworks underlying the interpretive process of researchers. 

It will focus on the choice of tools and the concrete use of interviews, focus groups and participant observation. 

Learning outcomes: define qualitative research, choose between several designs and tools and develop a qualitative research protocol.

Facilitators 

• PD Dr. Christina Akre, PhD
  Unisanté – Head of Social Sciences Sector – Department of Epidemiology and health systems (DESS), Université de Lausanne
• Dr. Yara Barrense-Dias, PhD 
  Unisanté – Social Sciences Sector – Department of Epidemiology and health systems (DESS), Université de Lausanne

This course is part of the SSPH+ Inter-university Graduate Campus 2025.