Sharing Qualitative Research Data: Survey of Qualitative Researchers, United States, 2019

Qualitative health data are rarely shared in the United States. The U.S. qualitative researchers (N = 425) were surveyed on the barriers and facilitators of sharing qualitative health or sensitive research data. Most researchers (96%) have never shared qualitative data in a repository. Primary concerns were lack of participant permission to share data, data sensitivity, and breaching trust. Willingness to share would increase if participants agreed and if sharing increased the societal impact of their research. Key resources to increase willingness to share were funding, guidance, and de-identification assistance. Public health and biomedical researchers were most willing to share.