Author: Biraj Ganguly | EVP – Healthcare and Life Sciences
Enhancing Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Research through Ethnographic Insights
Ethnography in healthcare
Ethnography is a research method that involves collecting qualitative data through observations and interviews to understand how societies and individuals function. This method is widely used in the consumer insights space and is of undisputed value to better understand local cultures and social behaviors. However, the benefits of ethnographic research are not limited to mitigating cultural bias, for example, when surveying global markets. It has great potential to also enhance research in the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors to help uncover vital cultural, social, and behavioral factors that influence health outcomes and the overall healthcare landscape.
Benefits of Ethnographic Research in Healthcare and Life Sciences
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| Understand cultural beliefs and practices | Identify unmet needs | Develop culturally appropriate marketing strategies | Improve patient engagement | Provide insights into cultural factors that shape healthcare |
Innovation through ethnography
Ethnography is a valuable tool for understanding patients’ experiences with illness and treatment. Researchers can observe patients throughout their treatment journey, identifying areas for improvement, unmet needs, and opportunities for innovation in pharmaceutical products and treatment strategies. Ethnography also sheds light on the patient-doctor relationship by examining factors that foster trust and communication. It can even uncover insights into traditional and non-conventional therapies, such as herbal remedies and alternative treatments. By conducting ethnographic research, cultural, social, and economic factors that influence patients’ decisions to seek treatment can be identified and understood, along with how different cultural groups might respond.
Some examples of how ethnographic research has been used in pharmaceutical research:
| Insight | Use Case | Therapeutic Area | Description |
| Patient illness experience | Improve outcomes | Chronic pain management | Gain a deep understanding of the challenges patients face in managing chronic pain. |
| Patient journey insights | Enhance engagement | Rare diseases | Identify the barriers and challenges faced by patients with rare diseases in accessing care and adhering to treatment regimens. |
| Patient-doctor relationship | Improve adherence | Medication adherence | Improve patient-provider communication and enhance treatment adherence. |
| Traditional and non-conventional therapies | Improve efficacy | Cancer treatment | Observe and conduct interviews with patients to understand the use of traditional and non-conventional therapies in cancer treatment. |
| Unmet needs and areas for improvement | Inform policy | Healthcare delivery | Identify access and quality gaps in healthcare delivery for underserved populations, and inform policy. |
| Cultural groups and treatment options | Improve effectiveness | Mental health treatment | Conduct interviews and observations to identify cultural beliefs and attitudes towards mental health, and how these beliefs impact treatment-seeking behavior and outcomes. |
| Pharmaceutical products and patient well-being | Improve outcomes | Pharmaceutical products | Ethnographic research is used to understand the experiences of patients taking specific medications, such as chemotherapy drugs. |
| Factors that influence treatment decisions | Improve adherence | Treatment-seeking behavior | Interviews and observations to identify patient beliefs and attitudes towards healthcare and medication that may influence treatment adherence. |
Overcoming challenges and barriers
Despite ethnography’s value in healthcare research, it presents several challenges and limitations including:
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| Gaining access to a target population | Language barriers | Cultural sensitivity and bias |
| Can be a significant obstacle, particularly with marginalized or difficult to reach groups. Researchers may face barriers such as distrust, fear, or suspicion from the community they are studying. | Can hinder research efforts, especially when researchers are not fluent in the language spoken by the community being studied. This can lead to misunderstandings, misinterpretations, and difficulties in gathering accurate data. | Can pose challenges in ethnographic research. Ethnographers must be aware of their own cultural biases and sensitivities, as these can affect their interactions with the community they are studying. Failure to address these biases can lead to misinterpretation of data and misunderstanding of cultural practices. |
Choosing the right researcher or partner is critical in addressing the challenges of ethnographic research. Experienced researchers who are culturally competent and have a good rapport with the target population are more likely to establish trust and rapport with the community. A diverse team that includes members from the community being studied can also improve cultural sensitivity and minimize biases. Additionally, researchers can employ cultural brokers or consultants to help reduce challenges and maintain self-awareness and self-reflection to avoid any assumptions or biases.
To overcome these challenges, researchers can employ several strategies. Establishing trust and rapport with the target population is crucial, and relationships with community leaders or gatekeepers can facilitate this. Community-based participatory research methods can ensure that the people being studied are directly involved. Language barriers can be overcome by employing interpreters and visual aids. The use of anchoring vignettes is another strategy that can improve the accuracy of self-reported data by providing a reference point for participants when evaluating their experiences, enhancing the comparability of data across diverse populations.
By carefully selecting their team and partners, and employing these strategies, researchers can successfully overcome the challenges of ethnographic research and collect accurate and valuable data that can inform healthcare policy and practice.
| Challenges | Strategies |
| Gaining access to a target population, particularly when marginalized or difficult to reach |
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| Language barriers |
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| Cultural sensitivity and bias |
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Real-world impact: case studies
Several large pharmaceutical manufacturers have successfully incorporated ethnographic insights into their research and development processes, improving patient outcomes and increasing trust between providers and patients:
- Type 2 diabetes in China A US pharmaceutical manufacturer conducted an ethnographic study to understand how people in China perceive and manage Type 2 diabetes. The study revealed that cultural beliefs about food and family’s role in healthcare decision-making were significant factors in diabetes management. In response, the manufacturer developed culturally sensitive education programs for healthcare providers and patients, resulting in improved patient outcomes and increased trust between providers and patients.
- Provider training in Brazil A large pharmaceutical manufacturer carried out an ethnographic study in Brazil to create a training program for healthcare providers treating respiratory illnesses. The study aimed to understand the cultural and social factors that influence the diagnosis and treatment of these conditions. By developing a training program that prioritized clinical assessments, the manufacturer achieved more accurate diagnoses and improved patient outcomes.
- Marketing synthetic growth hormones in Japan The failed introduction of a synthetic human growth hormone in Japan highlights the consequences of neglecting ethnographic research. The failure was rooted in the cultural and social nuances surrounding the perception of people of short stature in Japan. The manufacturer’s marketing campaigns were based on assumptions that had proven successful in Western markets but did not resonate with Japanese healthcare providers, parents, or patients due to deeply ingrained cultural beliefs. By investing in understanding the local culture and modifying their approach, the manufacturer eventually increased acceptance and adoption of the product in the Japanese market. This example emphasizes the importance of conducting ethnographic research to understand cultural contexts when introducing pharmaceutical products and treatments in different cultural settings.
Summary
Ethnography is a powerful tool in healthcare research that can help organizations understand patients’ views on illness, their treatment experiences, and the impact of illness on their lives. By identifying cultural, social, and economic factors influencing patients’ decisions to seek treatment, this research can inform healthcare policy and practice, leading to improved patient outcomes and increased trust between providers and patients. Although ethnographic research presents challenges and limitations, these can be addressed by building trust and rapport with the target population, overcoming language barriers, and critically examining any assumptions and biases of researchers.
How we can help
Phronesis Partners offers culturally-sensitive research services in the healthcare and life sciences industry. We assist organizations in navigating the challenges of ethnographic research, ensuring that they can develop innovative solutions that address the needs of patients across different cultures and geographies. To learn more, please connect with our experts.
