A semi-structured interview guide provided a flexible framework for questioning for both focus groups and interviews.
Rather than having both focus groups and interviews it was chosen to invite all participants in the focus group process.
In discussions with participants in both focus groups and interviews, it became clear that participants had developed many routines around their PERS.
All data were analysed thematically 47 as information from both focus groups and interviews were relevant to all three aims, and to allow comparisons within and across focus groups and interviews.
However, the methodology employed in the 15 qualitative studies varied: seven involved interviews, four used focus groups, three used a survey method to collect data, and one employed both focus groups and interviews.
The study utilised a qualitative design incorporating both focus groups and interviews with people who cared for someone with a severe mental illness, to explore their views on user/carer involved care planning.
Both focus groups and interviews have been used previously in studying various aspects of THA and TKA care, patient experiences and expectations [ 22- 27], but we are not aware of studies that examine THA and TKA rehabilitation practices and outcomes from multiple stakeholders' perspectives.
A semi-structured interview guide directed conversation during both group and individual interviews.
The hospital setting should have, however, improved information comparability of cases to controls, because both groups were interviewed under similar conditions and were therefore similarly sensitized toward recalling medical history.
However, our groups were facilitated by researchers with extensive experience and we found substantial agreement between the themes emerging from both groups and with the individual interviews, supporting the validity of our findings.
