Applications of turning point analysis in behavioral medicine research: A systematic scoping review

Turning Point Analysis (TPA) is a methodological approach that allows scholars to retrospectively capture change over time by identifying instances of critical change (i.e., turning points) encountered across a given time period. While TPA has been used to examine time as a variable in health and illness experiences, the use of the method in behavioral medicine scholarship may be limited by the lack of understanding of TPA procedures and applicability.

To describe how TPA has been used and enhance its accessibility by identifying and synthesizing methods of TPA data collection and analysis.

A systematic search of electronic databases, including Academic Source Premier, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, APA PsycInfo, and ProQuest Dissertation and Theses Database, was conducted in May 2020. In July 2020, we used hand searching to identify additional articles, including forward and back tracking seminal articles on TPA. Studies were screened in duplicate.

Of the 1184 studies screened for this review, we included 52. Studies used TPA to examine relational (k = 40), organizational (k = 6), and individual (k = 6) variables and included an analysis of either turning points (k = 28), the trajectories of change over time created by the turning points (k = 3), or both (k = 21). Turning points and trajectories were captured and analyzed using qualitative and quantitative analytic approaches, with most studies using either purely qualitative (k = 26) or mixed methods (k = 21).

The findings of this review provide insight into the varied applications of TPA and suggest the potential value of this methodological approach in better understanding health experiences across time. By synthesizing the procedural and analytic steps to conducting a TPA, this review could also increase the accessibility and use of TPA in behavioral medicine research.