Controversies in Qualitative Research: Ginger Johnson on qualitative research in emergency response

In this episode, Sohail interviews Ginger, who challenges the misconception that qualitative research is too slow and narrow to influence emergency response planning. Despite the common preference for quantitative data in crises, we spotlight the irreplaceable insights that qualitative research provides—insights into human behaviour, cultural context, and community dynamics that are crucial during emergencies. Join us as we explore real-world examples where nuanced, qualitative data has informed swift, culturally sensitive, and effective emergency responses, proving that in the heat of the moment, every narrative counts.

Ginger A. Johnson is a medical anthropologist with extensive experience of rapid qualitative research in emergency response, with organisations such as the World Food Programme and UNICEF. She was embedded in West Africa with the International Federation of the Red Cross during the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak and has additionally been involved in conducting research on subsequent public health emergencies of international concern such as Zika in Latin America, Ebola in DRC, polio in Pakistan and the COVID-19 pandemic. Ginger co-founded the Rapid Research Evaluation and Appraisal Lab (RREAL) at UCL, which promotes the quality and impact of rapid research used to study and evaluate clinical and health service models and interventions for time-sensitive contexts. 

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