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Advancing Medical Family Therapy Through Research: A Consideration of Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed-Methods Designs

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Abstract

To survive in today’s healthcare climate, stakeholders across all mental health disciplines must work to produce empirical evidence that earns their fields’ regard by educators, providers, and policy makers. As the field of Medical Family Therapy (MedFT) answers this call, it will be important for researchers to clearly define, characterize, and assess MedFT practice across clinical, operational, and financial arenas of care. In this account, we propose a common lexicon from which to do this, highlighting the following core tenets of MedFT: systems theory, biopsychosocial-spiritual sensitivity in practice, agency, communion, interdisciplinary collaboration, and the three-world model of healthcare. We conclude by offering concrete ways to advance the MedFT research agenda using qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-method approaches.

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For Further Reading on Advanced Quantitative Analyses

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Family Medicine & Community Health, University of Minnesota Medical School, 717 Delaware St. SE, Suite 422, Minneapolis, MN, 55414, USA

    Tai J. Mendenhall

  2. Department of Child Development and Family Relations, East Carolina University, 105 Rivers Building, Greenville, NC, 27858, USA

    Keeley J. Pratt

  3. Department of Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Science, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, 3555 Harden Street Ext. (15 Medical Park), Suite 141, Columbia, SC, 29203, USA

    Kenneth W. Phelps

  4. Department of Family Medicine & Community Health, University of Minnesota Medical School, 516 Delaware St. SE, 6-240 PWB, Minneapolis, MN, 55414, USA

    Macaran A. Baird

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  1. Tai J. Mendenhall
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  2. Keeley J. Pratt
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  4. Macaran A. Baird
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Correspondence to Tai J. Mendenhall.

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Mendenhall, T.J., Pratt, K.J., Phelps, K.W. et al. Advancing Medical Family Therapy Through Research: A Consideration of Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed-Methods Designs. Contemp Fam Ther 34, 187–203 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10591-012-9186-6

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