Mixed Methods Research in General Practice: Key Points of Design and Implementation and Case Analysis

General practice research focuses on a range of topics, such as patients' physical health and mental health, physicians' competencies and career motivation, quality of healthcare and physician-patient relationships and cooperation. However, these are not resolved well only using quantitative research which is still dominated in the field of general practice. In this case, qualitative method is often required, although it is considered to be subjective, and is mainly used to describe a phenomenon that is little known in a small sample. Mixed methods research, which incorporates qualitative and quantitative research and combines the advantages of both, can analyze specific problems more extensively and intensively, is suitable for studying complex problems, and for general practice research as an approach integrating clinical medicine and sociology. However, mixed methods research in general practice is still in its early phase in China, and the standardization of its design and implementation needs to be improved. For better elaborating the key points in the design and implementation of mixed methods research, we detailed a study using mixed methods, providing a reference for general practitioners to carry out mixed methods research.