The fake patient: a research experiment in a Ghanaian hospital.
The authors report on a research experiment involving the admission of one of them as a pseudo-patient in a rural Ghanaian hospital. The experiment was meant to assess the feasibility of carrying out unobtrusive participant observation in a hospital setting. Practical, methodological and ethical implications are discussed.
Van der Geest
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Anthropological-Sociological Center, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Sarkodie
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D000883:Anthropology; D001294:Attitude to Health; D015982:Bias; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005869:Ghana; D006302:Health Services Research / Q000379:methods*; D006780:Hospitals, Rural / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital / Q000523:psychology; D019370:Observation / Q000379:methods; D016544:Patient Simulation; D012068:Religion and Medicine; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012962:Sociology, Medical; D014038:Toilet Facilities