The utility of ethnographic methods in medical research: experience with substance use disorders

Ethnographic research methodology provides investigators with the opportunity to explore various ways in which culture affects and modulates human behaviour and beliefs. These methods, even though commonly used in medical anthropology, are often neglected in the main-stream of medical research, possibly as a result of relative unfamiliarity with their principles and techniques. Drawing on experience gained in Ibadan during a WHO collaborative study in nine different countries, we demonstrate the use of key informants interview and focus group techniques. We conclude that the methods are easy to learn and apply, and have potentials for helping researchers in many areas of medicine to address important questions.