Integrating the findings of a qualitative evidence synthesis (QES) with the findings of a review of intervention effects can offer many insights including potential reasons for variation in intervention outcomes. QES often generate theories and explanations for why and how interventions work from the perspectives of those delivering or using them; by integrating these theories with evidence on intervention effects, review teams can offer vital information to support implementation of review findings in practice settings. However guidance on the difficult task of integrating the different evidence types is limited and there are few worked examples of methods for integration. In this webinar Katy illustrated a wide range of different options for integrating QES and intervention evidence, drawing on real integration examples. Through these examples Katy illustrated the diversity of integration methods and tools and critically examine their strengths and limitations.
Dr Katy Sutcliffe is an Associate Professor at the Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Coordination Centre (EPPI Centre), Institute of Education, University College London. She is the Deputy Director of the London-York NIHR Policy Reviews Facility which produces research syntheses to support the Department of Health and Social Care’s policy decisions. Katy specialises in developing systematic review methods for producing policy-relevant evidence, in particular qualitative and mixed-methods evidence syntheses and approaches for identifying the key ingredients and underlying mechanisms of interventions. Katy is associate editor of the forthcoming Cochrane handbook on QES and lead author of the chapter on integrating qualitative and quantitative evidence.
