Blossoms of a magnolia tree is seen in front of a red bridge in Allen Centennial Garden at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

“Narratives are compelling because they speak to both our imaginations and our analytic capacities, and because they motivate as well as inform.”

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A magnolia tree beginning to bud our with out of focus background.

“The solid grounding in rigorous qualitative research provides access to an increasingly rare commodity: diversity of perspective and experience.”

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A pink saucer magnolia tree blossoms against a cloudless blue sky.

“I want my experiences to help others, even if it’s just one person.”

– Breast cancer study participant

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Qualitative and Health Experiences Research (Q-HER) Lab

The Qualitative and Health Experiences Research (Q-HER) Lab conducts rigorous qualitative and mixed methods research with the goal of making health and health care experiences more equitable and person-centered.

We study a wide range of health experiences from the perspectives of people and care partners with lived experience and occasionally from the perspective of clinicians and policymakers. We are committed to:

Hearing about experiences from the most diverse group of people possible
Elevating actionable ideas generated from lived experiences
Publicly disseminating what we learn for use by multiple audiences
Innovations in methods and measurement
Catalyzing improvements in health and health care grounded in the experiences and ideas of people and communities

We use a variety of qualitative and mixed methods approaches to inquiry including: