Introduction to Special Issue: Improving Clinical Practices in Pediatric Psychology Through Qualitative Research

Abstract

This special issue of Clinical Practice in Pediatric Psychology includes 11 articles illustrating the use of qualitative methods in research focused upon improving clinical practice in pediatric psychology. This introduction to the special issue provides a brief overview of these articles that illustrate the use of these methods to: (a) identify clinical care needs and risk and resiliency factors among families of children with medical conditions; b) develop and refine psychosocial models of care, assessment tools, program materials, and interventions for specific issues and groups; (c) define roles for pediatric psychologists in improving the delivery of pediatric medical care; and (d) provide lessons learned in implementing clinical initiatives within health care systems. It is hoped that these examples motivate those in our field to consider additional training in these methods and partnerships with collaborators with expertise in qualitative methods when designing and conducting research to improve clinical practice.