ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book highlights the complexity of choosing a research design capable of investigating creative and emergent practice whilst also meeting the demands of the clinical institutions within which research and practice take place. It reflects on a cluster of three mixed-methods studies concerned with supporting doctors in their practice. The book lays out some of the challenges for trialists with regards to recruitment and retention of participants and signals the potential of mixed-methods designs incorporating qualitative elements before, during or post-trial to enhance the design and conduct of randomised control trials. It describes various studies that took place between 2002 and 2017 on the subject of mentoring for doctors’ wellbeing. The book also describes a participatory, qualitatively driven, mixed-methods study of water, sanitation and hygiene and wellbeing in rural Eswatini, southern Africa.
