Examining qualitative cross-country comparative analysis in health: Reflective insights and methodological considerations

Qualitative cross-country comparative analysis is a method used to compare qualitative data from two or more countries to generate new insights and understandings for research, policy, and practice. Little is known about what is challenging and/or enjoyable for researchers employing this approach. This paper reflects on the experiences of 21 researchers who took part in qualitative cross-country comparative analyses for papers that were submitted to a special issue of a peer reviewed journal. We draw on semi-structured interviews with researchers from the UK, Brazil, Japan, Germany, Spain, Australia, Canada, and USA, all of whom are members of the DIPEx International research collaboration. The cross-country analyses were based on interview studies about various aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic. We explore researchers’ accounts of qualitative cross-country comparative analysis and their perspectives on working in international and interdisciplinary teams. Themes explored include Anglo-centrism, working across disciplines, translation for analysis, and leadership. We conclude with recommendations for future qualitative cross-country comparative health research endeavours, encouraging more qualitative health research in this sphere. We emphasise the potential of qualitative cross-country comparative research to significantly develop medical sociology and qualitative health research generally, in this case through improving our understanding of complex, potentially global, phenomena, such as experiences of a pandemic.