Table 4.
Quality appraisal of the studies using the mixed methods appraisal tool (MMAT).
| MMAT category of study designs | Study | Responses | MMAT methodological quality criteria (Hong et al., 2018) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualitative | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 1.1. Is the qualitative approach appropriate to answer the research question? | |
| Athanasiadou and Karkou (2017) | Y | Y | Y | C | Y | 1.2. Are the qualitative data collection methods adequate to address the research question? | |
| Devereaux (2017) | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 1.3. Are the findings adequately derived from the data? | |
| Houghton and Beebe (2016) | Y | C | Y | C | Y | 1.4. Is the interpretation of results sufficiently substantiated by data? | |
| Wengrower (2010) | Y | N | N | N | N | 1.5. Is there coherence between qualitative data sources, collection, analysis and interpretation? | |
| Quantitative non-randomised | 3.1 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.1. Are the participants representative of the target population? | |
| Hartshorn et al. (2001) | Y | C | N | N | C | 3.2. Are measurements appropriate regarding both the outcome and intervention (or exposure)? | |
| Chiang et al. (2016) | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 3.3. Are there complete outcome data? 3.4. Are the confounders accounted for in the design and analysis? 3.5. During the study period, is the intervention administered (or exposure occurred) as intended? |
|
| Quantitative | 4.1 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.1. Is the sampling strategy relevant to address the research question? | |
| descriptive | Sengupta and Banerjee (2020) | N | Y | N | Y | N | 4.2. Is the sample representative of the target population? 4.3. Are the measurements appropriate? 4.4. Is the risk of non-response bias low? 4.5. Is the statistical analysis appropriate to answer the research question? |
| Mixed methods | 5.1 | 5.2 | 5.3 | 5.4 | 5.5 | 5.1. Is there an adequate rationale for using a mixed methods design to address the research question? | |
| Samaritter (2015) | C | Y | Y | Y | Y | 5.2. Are the different components of the study effectively integrated to answer the research question? | |
| Aithal (2020) | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | 5.3. Are the outputs of the integration of qualitative and quantitative components adequately interpreted? 5.4. Are divergences and inconsistencies between quantitative and qualitative results adequately addressed? 5.5. Do the different components of the study adhere to the quality criteria of each tradition of the methods involved? |
|
Y, Yes; N, No; C, Can't tell.