[Perspectives and Potentials in Qualitative Health Research: A Plea for an Interdisciplinary Approach]

In order to show perspectives and potentials of qualitative health and health care research, the article explains special features of this research field. It points out the significance of more recent social science theories, which are closely linked to empirical analyses of various disease and health topics. This allows a more systematic view of health care issues, which is illustrated by the example of the increased demands for participation and the importance of patient organizations in planning and designing health care. Thus, these remarks tie in with current debates in (qualitative) health services research and supplement them with further perspectives from social science health research. The aim of the article is to illustrate the benefits of interdisciplinary cooperation between medicine and the social sciences in research. For example, drawing on current social science, theorizing in empirical analyses can bring to the fore historically specific ideas of the ̒good patient̓. By interpreting research results accordingly, the scope for action and reflection of health service professionals can be expanded, and the planning of care-related interventions can receive new impulses. This article should help readers in three ways: to assess the significance of qualitative methods and social science theories for interdisciplinary health research, to see the importance of a focus of health services research on the role of patient organisations and movements, and to understand that health research that is less strongly oriented towards instrumental use and direct application orientation can also provide useful extensions of perspectives for the design of health care in the future.