Table 1 Description of included studies
Author | Year | Country | Condition(s) | Theoretical framework | Sampling procedure | Data collection | Data analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aspin | 2012 | Australia | Chronic conditions - at least one index condition of diabetes, COPD, or CHF | None Reported | Purposive Sampling | Semi-structured interviews | Content Analysis |
Audulv | 2013 | Sweden | Ischemic heart disease rheumatic disease, chronic renal disease, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis and diabetes | None Reported | Purposive | Semi-Structured Interviews. | Interpretive Descriptive Analysis |
Bair | 2009 | USA | comorbid chronic musculoskeletal pain and depression | None Reported | Random Sampling of randomized control trial participants | Focus Groups | Thematic Analysis |
Barker | 2006 | Canada | Stroke | The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF)(World Health Organization [WHO], 2001) and Continuity Theory | Sub-Sampling from lareger study | In-depth interviews | Constant comparative analysis |
Bayliss | 2008 | USA | Multimorbidity - at a minimum, the combined conditions of diabetes, depression and osteoarthritis | None Reported | Randomly selected from larger survey Sampling of patients that met inclusion critieria | Semi-Structured Interviews | Thematic Analysis and Constant Comparison |
Beauregard | 2005 | Canada | HIV/AIDS | None Reported | Convenience Sampling | Interviews | Phenomenologic analysis |
Becker | 2004 | USA | All chronic conditions; most common diabetes, asthma, heart disease and hypertension | None Reported | Purposive Sampling | 3 in-depth Interviews over a one year period | Krieger Methodology and Narrative Analysis |
Becker | 2003 | USA | Multiple conditions; most common diabetes, asthma, heart disease, or hypertension | None Reported | Convenience Sampling | 3 in-depth interviews over 1 year | Content Analysis Stratified by Income Category |
Becker | 2003 | USA | Chronic disease in general; most common diabetes, asthma, and heart disease or hypertension | None Reported | Convenience Sampling | 3 in-depth interviews over 1 year | Content Analysis and Case-by-Case Narrative Analysis |
Beverly | 2011 | USA | Type 2 Diabetes with comorbid conditions | None Reported | Intensity (Purposive) Sampling | Focus Groups | Thematic Analysis |
Boeckxstaens | 2012 | Belgium | COPD | None Reported | Convenience Sampling | Interviews | Thematic Analysis |
Bova | 2010 | USA | Hepatitis C AND HIV | None Reported | Purposive Sampling and Theoretical Sampling | Semi-structured face-to-face interviews | Qualitative Descriptive Methods and Content Analysis |
Bower | 2012 | UK | Multimorbidity (Diabetes, COPD, CHD, arthritis and depression, cancer, thyroid disease, hypertension) | Common sense model of illness | Purposive Sampling | Semi-Structured Interviews | Framework Analysis - Constant Comparison |
Bremander | 2009 | Sweden | Chronic pain | None Reported | Patients who completed a pain rehabilitation program | Interview | Grounded Theory |
Burles | 2013 | Canada | Anorexia, breast cancer, depression, endometriosis, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, primary hypoadrenalism and secondary hypothyroidism, and a malignant brain tumour | None Reported | Snowball Sampling | Interpretive, Hermeneutic Phenomenological Interviews and Photovoice | Holistic and Cross-Sectional Data Analysis Guided by Hermeneutical Phenomenolgy |
Carey | 2005 | USA | Insomnia | None Reported | Purposive Sampling | Focus Groups | Survey Development/Thematic Analysis |
Clarke | 2008 | Canada | Multiple Chronic Conditions | Symbolic interactionism | Purposive Sampling | In-depth interviews | Grounded Theory |
Conrad | 2006 | Australia | Chronic hepatitis C | None Reported | Purposive; snowball | Semi-structured interviews and focus groups | Grounded Theory |
Corsner | 2011 | USA | MCC (≥2: Diabetes, Chronic Dulmonary Disease (i.e., asthma, COPD, emphysema), CHF, coronary artery disease, osteoarthritis, musculoskeletal disorder, and/or ongoing cancer/neoplasm | None Reported | Convenience Sampling | Focus Groups (supplemented with chart reviews) | Content Analysis |
Coty | 2013 | USA | Rheumatoid Arthritis | Self-regulation Theory | Purposive Sampling of patients from larger quantitative study | Semi-Structured Telephone Interviews | Phenomenological Analysis (Colaizzi) |
Drew | 2006 | USA | Chronic Lyme Disease | None Reported | Purposive Sampling | In-Depth Interview | Colazzi Phenomenology |
Edmonds | 2007 | UK | Multiple sclerosis | None Reported | Purposive Sampling | Semi-structured interview | Constant comparison |
Elliott | 2007 | USA | Multiple Chronic Conditions | None Reported | Purposive Sampling | Semi-Structured Interviews | Constant Comparison |
Ellis | 2013 | UK | Cancer | Not Reported | Patient attending a hospice day care service was recruited (via hospice staff) and asked to invite their family members to be involved in the research | Repeat, in-depth interviews and participant observation on a hospice inpatient ward | Thematic Analysis |
Eton | 2012 | USA | Multiple Chronic Conditions | Normalization Process Theory informed the interview guide - no theoretical framework guided the analysis | Convenience Sampling of patients already participating in a medication therapy management program | Semi-Structured Interviews | Ritchie and Lewis’ framework Analysis |
Feldman | 2003 | USA | Arthritis | Ecological Framework | Convenience Sampling | Peer support groups | Not Reported |
Fisher | 2007 | USA | Chronic Pain | None Reported | Purposive Sampling | Semi-Structured Interviews | Thematic Analysis |
Gallant | 2007 | USA | Arthritis, diabetes, and/or heart disease | Social cognitive theory and others | Purposive Sampling | Focus Groups | Thematic Analysis |
Gelling | 2009 | UK | Idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus | Berger and Luckmann | Purposive and Theoretical Sampling | Semi-structured interviews and written personal biographies | Grounded Theory |
Gustafsson | 2012 | Australia | Stroke | None Reported | Single case study | E-mail conversations | Narrative Analysis |
Hodgson | 2011 | UK | Severe and Enduring Mental Illness | None Reported | Purposive Sampling | One-to-one interviews | Thematic Analysis |
Jakobsen | 2001 | Norway | Any Chronic Condition. Included: rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, ankylosing spondylitis, lupus, heart disease, and lower back pain. | None Reported | Purposive Sampling | Interviews and observations of workplaces | Phenomenological Analysis |
Janevic | 2014 | USA | Asthma AND Type 2 diabetes, heart disease or arthritis requiring daily medication for at least 1 year, or report a significant effect of arthritis on daily functioning | None overall, but, the frameworks of social support and resilience were called upon to inform the study | Quota Sampling | In-Person Semi-Structured Interview | General Inductive Approach |
Janke | 2012 | USA | Chronic Pain in Obesity | None Reported | Purposive Sampling | Individual or small group interviews | Constant Comparative Method |
Janke | 2008 | USA | Hepatitis C | None Reported | Convenience Sampling | Focus Groups | Grounded Theory |
Jeon | 2012 | Australia | Multiple chronic conditions | Explanatory Model of Illness | Purposive criteria selected from a previous survey | Interview by phone | Content Analysis |
Jeon | 2010 | Australia | Type 2 Diabetes, Chronic heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | Explanatory Model of Illness | Purposive Sampling | Semi-structured in-depth interviews | Content Analysis |
Jeon | 2009 | Australia | Type 2 Diabetes, Chronic Heart Failure, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease | None Reported | Purposive for patients; convenience for carers; recruited through referrals | Semi-structured, in-depth interviews | Content Analysis |
Jerant | 2005 | USA | Arthritis, asthma, COPD, CHF, depression, and DM | None Reported | Convenience Sampling | Focus Groups | Grounded Theory |
Jones | 2012 | USA | Heart Failure | None Reported | Purposive Sampling | Interviews | General Inductive Approach |
Jowsey | 2009 | Australia | Co-morbid chronic illness including DM, COPD and/or CHF | None Reported | Purposive Sampling | Semi-structured in-depth interviews and focus groups | Content Analysis |
Keating | 2011 | Australia | COPD | None reported | Patients who declined or quit participating in a COPD program | Semi-structured interviews | Thematic Analysis |
Kirby | 2013 | Australia | Chronic illness | The Chronic Care Model | Purposive Sampling | Semi-Structured Interviews | Grounded Theory |
Kneck | 2012 | Sweden | Diabetes | None reported | Selective Sampling Approach | Interview | Phenomenological-Hermeneutic Method |
Kouwenhoven | 2011 | Norway | Stroke survivors with early depressive symptoms | None reported | Systematic | Repeated in-depth interviews | Hermeneutic Phenomenology |
Kvigne | 2004 | Norway | Stroke | None reported | Purposive Sampling | Three In-depth Interviews (in hospital, 6-months and 1 year) | Giorgi’s (1985) Phenomenological Four-step < =Method |
Loeb | 2003 | USA | Multiple Chronic Conditions | None Reported | Purposive Sampling | Focus Groups | Thematic and Content Analyses |
Lopez-Vargas | 2014 | Australia | CKD | None Reported | Purposive Sampling | Focus Group | Grounded Theory |
Lovely | 2013 | USA | Malignant Brain Tumor | None Reported | Purposive Sampling | Semi-Structured Interviews | Thematic Analysis |
Manias | 2007 | Australia | Osteoarthritis and at least one other comorbidity | None Reported | Purposive for patients and conveience for health professionals | Focus groups and individual interviews | Framework Analysis |
Martini | 2012 | New Zealand | Gout | None reported | Convenience Sampling | Semi-structured interviews | General Inductive Thematic Approach |
Matthias | 2010 | USA | Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain | None Reported | Purposive Sampling of a subset of participants from previous trial | Focus Groups | Thematic Content Analysis |
McCann | 2012 | USA | Heart disease, diabetes, or osteoporosis | Feminism, Symbolic interactionism. Social networks, social convoy model | Random Sampling Followed by Convenience Sampling | 20-min structured telephone interview and 2 face to face follow-up interviews. | Grounded Theory |
McCreaddie | 2011 | UK | Hepatitis C | None Reported | Purposive and, thereafter, Theoretical Sampling | Interviews with patients; focus groups with medical professional staff | Constructivist grounded theory; Constant Comparison |
Medina | 2011 | USA | Chronic disease (included patients had post stroke/diabetes, heart disease/post-TIA, and Parkinson’s/arthritis | The Model of Human Occupation | Purposive Sampling; Key Informants | Two 90-min Face-to-Face Interviews | Phenomenological |
Miles | 2005 | UK | Chronic Pain | None Reported | Theoretical Sampling | Open-ended interviews | Grounded Theory |
Mishra | 2011 | USA | Multiple Chronic Conditions | Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model of behavior | Purposive Sampling | Focus Groups | Phenomenological; Template Analysis |
Monroe | 2013 | USA | HIV AND (diabetes or hypertension) | None reported | Self-referral from flyers and through referral from medical providers | Focus Group | Editing Style Analysis |
Morris | 2011 | UK | Multiple long-term conditions - irritable bowel syndrome; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; and diabetes | None Reported | Purposive Sampling | Initial face-to-face interviews, telephone follow-ups and final face-to-face interviews | Narrative Analysis |
Munce | 2014 | Canada | Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury | Knowledge to Action framework | Purposive Sampling | Semi-structured telephone interviews | Thematic Analysis |
Nakano | 2010 | USA | Stroke survivor with aphasia | None Reported | Convenience Sampling; single patient case study | In-Depth Interview Over Time | Not Reported |
Nelson | 2013 | UK | Psoriasis | None Reported | Purposive Sampling | Semi-Structured Interviews | Framework Analysis |
Newbould | 2012 | UK | Various chronic conditions | None Reported | Samplingd by voluntary participation from patients from integrated care pilot | Semi-structured Interviews | Lofland and Lofland - Thematic analysis |
Newcomb | 2010 | USA | Asthma | None Reported | Patients were from a trial of asthma care | Semi-Structured Interviews Using a Questionnaire | Constant comparative analysis |
Noel | 2005 | USA | Multiple Chronic Conditions | Von Korff’s Collaborative Management of Chronic Illness Care | Purposive Sampling | Focus Groups | Thematic Analysis |
O’Hara | 2013 | UK | Type 1 Diabetes | None Reported | Self-selected and snowball Sampling | Semi-structured interviews | Grounded Theory |
Rifkin | 2010 | USA | Chronic kidney disease | None Reported | Purposive Sampling | Semi-Structured Interviews | Thematic Analysis |
Roberto | 2005 | USA | Multiple chronic conditions - heart disease, osteoporosis, or diabetes in combination | Life-course Theory and a Trajectory Model of Chronic Illness | Targeted Random Sampling | Semi-Structured Interviews | Thematic Analysis |
Rogerson | 2012 | Australia | CHD and depression | None Reported | Purposively selected from a previous study post-cardiac hospitalization | Semi-structured interviews | Content analysis |
Sankar | 2003 | USA | HIV | None Reported | Targeted and snowball Sampling techniques | Focus Groups | Content and Thematic Analysis |
Sav | 2013 | Australia | Chronic conditions | None Reported | Purposive snowball Sampling | Semi-structured in-depth interviews | Grounded Theory |
Schmutte | 2009 | USA | Serious Mental Illness | None Reported | Participants were recruited through referrals from mental health providers and fliers. | Focus Groups | Interpretive Phenomenological Qualitative Data Analytic Strategies |
Schoenberg | 2003 | USA | Coronary heart disease and risk factors for CHD e.g. hypertension, diabetes, etc. | None Reported | Theoretical Sampling | Interviews and Focus groups | Thematic Analysis |
Sells | 2009 | USA | Multiple chronic conditions | Temporal Framework | Random, stratified Sampling based upon high utilizers vs not | 3 Semi-Structured Interviews over 1 year | Phenomenological |
Simmonds | 2013 | UK | Coronary Heart Disease AND Depression | None reported | Consecutive Sampling | Semi-Structured Interview. All the interviews, were digitally recorded, transcribed verbatim | Thematic Analysis |
Skuladottir | 2011 | Iceland | Chronic Pain (women only) | None Reported | Theoretical and Volunteer Sampling | In-depth interviews | Vancouver School of phenomenology |
Smith | 2012 | USA | HIV | The situated Information, Motivation, Behavioral Skills (sIMB) model of Care Initiation and Maintenance for chronic diseases | Purposive Sampling divided between community clinic and medical outreach services | Semi-structured interviews | Content Analysis and Emergent Theme Identification |
Snelgrove | 2013 | UK | Chronic Low Back Pain | IPA and the Enmeshment Model | Purposive Sampling | Semi-Structured Interview | Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis |
Söderberg | 2001 | Sweden | Fibromyalgia | None Reported | Purposive Sampling | Narrative Interviews | Thematic Content Analysis |
Soundy | 2007 | UK | Severe and enduring mental health problems | None Reported | Purposive maximum variation Sampling | Semi-Structured Interview | Thematic Analysis |
Taylor | 2005 | USA | Chronic Fatigue Syndrome | Social Model of Disability | Convenience Sampling | Focus Groups; Open-Ended Questionairre; Progress Notes | Qualitative Comparative Method |
Tenhunen | 2005 | UK | Chronic Daily Headache | None Reported | Purposive Theoretical Sampling; Snowball Sampling | Semi-Structured Interview | Grounded theory |
Thompson | 2008 | USA | Chronic Mental Illness | None Reported | Purposive Sampling | Photovoice and Individual Interview | Qualitative Descriptive Method and Content analysis |
Thorpe | 2014 | Australia | COPD | None Reported | Purposive Sampling | Semi-Structured telephone interviews | Content Analysis |
Tollefson | 2011 | Australia | Chronic Pain | None Reported | Purposive Sampling | Open-ended conversational-type interview | van Manen’s thematic approach |
Townsend | 2011 | Canada | Multimorbidity | Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice | Purposive Sampling | In-depth interview, a 2-week self-complete symptom/management diary, and a second in-depth interview conducted approximately 3 weeks after the first | Grounded Theory |
Treloar | 2010 | Australia | Hepatitis C and opioid addiction | None Reported | 19 randomly Sampling from a larger survey study; 8 recruited from a specific organization | Phone and face to face semi-structured interviews and focus groups | Descriptive analysis |
Villena | 2010 | USA | Mental illness AND substance abuse | None Reported | Purposive Sampling | Semi-Structured Interviews | Interpretive Hermeneutic Phenomenology |
Walden | 2009 | USA | Any chronic condition | None Reported | Purposive Sampling | Individual and Focus Group Interviews; Free Text Survey Comments | Thematic Analysis |
Warren-Findlow | 2008 | USA | Nonobstructive coronary artery disease | None Reported | Purposive Sampling | Multiple In-Depth Interviews conducted over a 2-year time period | Grounded Theory |
Wasley | 2013 | UK | Type 1 diabetes | None Reported | Not reported | Semi-structured interview | Thematic Composition |
Webster | 2013 | Canada | Osteoarthritis | None Reported | Purposive Sampling utilizing maximum variation and Theoretical Sampling | Semi-structured interview. | Constructivist Approach to Grounded Theory |
Wendorf | 2013 | USA | HIV/AIDS and depression | None Reported | Purposive Sampling | Semi-Structured Individual Interviews | Grounded Theory |
Wilkinson | 2012 | UK | Renal Disease | None Reported | Purposive Sampling | Interviews | Thematic Analysis |
Williams | 2013 | Australia | Coexisting Diabetes, CKD and Hypertension | Modified Health Belief Model | Participants in the intervention arm of an RCT, recruited from nephrology and diabetes outpatient clinics | Motivational Interviews conducted via telephone. Data consist of notes taken by the nurse conducting the telephone call | Thematic Analysis |
Williams | 2013 | Australia | Stroke | None Reported | Purposive case Sampling | Semi-structured interviews. | Interpretative Phenomenological Approach |
Williams | 2009 | Australia | Diabetic kidney disease | None Reported | Convenience Sampling | Individual interview | Ritchie and Spencer’s (1994) ‘framework’ method of qualitative analysis |
Williams | 2008 | Australia | Co-exisisting diabetes and kidney disease | Johnson’s (2002) model of medication adherence in hypertensive patients | Convenience Sampling | In-depth interviews and focus groups | Content analysis according to Johnson’s (2002) model of medication adherence in hypertensive patients |
Wylde | 2011 | UK | Chronic Pain (post joint replacement) | None Reported | Convenience Sampling of those who agreed to participate from another survey | Think aloud interviews with existing scale | Thematic Analysis |
Wyrwich | 2006 | USA | Asthma, COPD or heart disease | A model of HRQoL appraisal developed by Rapkin and Schwartz [16] | Theoretical Sampling | Semi-Structured Face-to-Face Cognitive Interviews | Content Analysis |
Yang | 2009 | Australia | Complex Medical conditions - all patients had 2+ comorbidities | None Reported | Clinician referral of patients with 2+ comorbidities 2 weeks after recent hospital discharge | Telephone interviews | Constant Comparative/Grounded Theory |
Zanchetta | 2007 | Canada | Prostate cancer | This enquiry was guided by the philosophy that education is a way to achieve a critical consciousness (Freire, 1973, 1999). | Purposive Sampling | Semi-Structured Interviews, participants’ personal journals, personal documents, genograms and ecomaps, and interviewer’s observational notes | Content Analysis |
Zickmund | 2012 | USA | Hepatitis C and Opioid Addiction | None Reported | Purposive Sampling of patients from a clinical trial | Semi-structured telephone interview | Crabtree and Miller “Editing” Approach |