Identifying Unmet Needs in Major Depressive Disorder Using a Computer-Assisted Alternative to Conventional Thematic Analysis: Qualitative Interview Study With Psychiatrists.

BACKGROUND: The development of digital health tools that are clinically relevant requires a deep understanding of the unmet needs of stakeholders, such as clinicians and patients. One way to reveal unforeseen stakeholder needs is through qualitative research, including stakeholder interviews. However, conventional qualitative data analytical approaches are time-consuming and resource-intensive, rendering them untenable in many industry settings where digital tools are conceived of and developed. Thus, a more time-efficient process for identifying clinically relevant target needs for digital tool development is needed.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to address the need for an accessible, simple, and time-efficient alternative to conventional thematic analysis of qualitative research data through text analysis of semistructured interview transcripts. In addition, we sought to identify important themes across expert psychiatrist advisor interview transcripts to efficiently reveal areas for the development of digital tools that target unmet clinical needs.

METHODS: We conducted 10 (1-hour-long) semistructured interviews with US-based psychiatrists treating major depressive disorder. The interviews were conducted using an interview guide that comprised open-ended questions predesigned to (1) understand the clinicians' experience of the care management process and (2) understand the clinicians' perceptions of the patients' experience of the care management process. We then implemented a hybrid analytical approach that combines computer-assisted text analyses with deductive analyses as an alternative to conventional qualitative thematic analysis to identify word combination frequencies, content categories, and broad themes characterizing unmet needs in the care management process.

RESULTS: Using this hybrid computer-assisted analytical approach, we were able to identify several key areas that are of interest to clinicians in the context of major depressive disorder and would be appropriate targets for digital tool development.

CONCLUSIONS: A hybrid approach to qualitative research combining computer-assisted techniques with deductive techniques provides a time-efficient approach to identifying unmet needs, targets, and relevant themes to inform digital tool development. This can increase the likelihood that useful and practical tools are built and implemented to ultimately improve health outcomes for patients.