Question type

Example question

Purpose of the question

Introduction

Can you tell me about the onset of your condition and a little bit about it?

This question aimed to engage the participant with the topic and to allow them to express their personal understanding of their condition.

Transition

How does IPF make you feel on a day-to-day basis?

This question was used to gain an overall impression of the psychological impact of the disease from the participant’s perspective, and to link the introductory and main questions.

Transition

How do you make the most of it?

These questions helped to facilitate the flow between topics of interest during the interview. These types of question were followed by the main question, depending on the participant’s response.

Main

If you think back to your life before being diagnosed with your medical condition, what are the things that you did before but are prevented from doing now?

This type of question was asked to get an indication of the participant’s lifestyle before diagnosis of the disease and how IPF had affected their daily life. This is the key information in which the interviewers were interested.

Summary

Is there any other way that it affects you?

These questions were intended to sum up the main topics of the interview, allowing the participant to summarise their overall experiences and personal perspectives of living with the disease.