Qualitative evaluation in nursing interventions—A review of the literature

AIM: To identify and synthesize qualitative evaluation methods used in nursing interventions. DESIGN: A systematic qualitative review with a content analysis. Four databases were used: MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Embase and CINAHL using pre‐defined terms. The included papers were published from 2014–2018. METHODS: We followed the guidelines of Dixon‐Woods et al., Sandelowski and Barroso, the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme qualitative checklist and The Confidence in the Evidence from Reviews of Qualitative Research Approach. RESULTS: Of 103 papers, 15 were eligible for inclusion. The main theme Challenging complexity by evaluating qualitatively described processes and characteristics of qualitative evaluation. Two analytic themes emerged: Evaluating the implementation process and Evaluating improvements brought about by the programme. CONCLUSION: Different qualitative evaluation methods in nursing are a way of documenting knowledge that is difficult to illuminate in natural settings and make an important contribution when determining the pros and cons of an intervention.