Table 1 Interview topic guide
Interview topic | Example questions |
|---|---|
Introductions and warm up | Can you start by telling me how you came to get help? |
| Â | Do you have anyone who regularly helps you with (literacy)*? |
How general health may be affected by literacy level | How would you say your general health is? |
| Â | Can you tell me about of any ways your (literacy) affects your health? |
Self care: health information and preventive behaviour | Where do you normally learn about things to do with health? |
| Â | Do you attend or take part in screening? |
| Â | - cervical (females only) |
| Â | - breast (females over 50) bowel (all over 50) |
Self care: management of health problems; medication; family health | Do you or anyone you look after have a medical condition that needs to be treated or checked up on regularly? |
| Â | How do you get on with prescriptions? |
|  | Do you have children? Tell me about what you have to do to look after their health–immunisation, childhood illnesses etc. |
Access to health services: patient-healthcare provider relationships; navigating the health service environment | Does your GP know that you have/have had some difficulties with (literacy)? |
| Â | If yes, how did do they know? |
| Â | Does your (literacy) affect whether you go to health services? If yes, how? |
| Â | Do you have anyone who helps you when you use health services? |
Types of initiatives that would help access to services/self-care etc. | What would make it easier for you to …… take care of your condition/take your medicine properly? (these will depend on the responses to previous questions) |
|  | How could the ……….. service be improved for people with any literacy difficulties? |
Additions to topic guide after initial analyses (questions added to ensure coverage of these emerging topics) | |
Life history | How did you get on at school? |
| Â | When were you aware you had needed some help with your literacy? |
| Â | What sort of work have you done in the past? |
Disclosure management | Who knows about your literacy? |
What did you say to them when you told them? | |
How would you decide who to tell? | |
Advantages/disadvantages of disclosure | Do you think it matters if healthcare staff know about your literacy? |