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Table 2 Major topics and key questions, according to interview time point

From: The psychology of the wait time experience – what clinics can do to manage the waiting experience for patients: a longitudinal, qualitative study

Pre-visit

Now think about your first visit with the doctor at this HIV clinic

 

Hopes

Think about what things would be like if everything were perfect on the day of your first visit with the doctor at this HIV clinic. What do you hope will happen?

Expectations

Now think about your first visit with the doctor at this HIV clinic. Walk me through everything you think will happen on the day of your first visit with the doctor.

You step foot in the clinic. Now what?

You’re sitting in the waiting room. Tell me about that. Now what?

How long do you think you’ll have to wait?

How long do you think the doctor will spend with you?

Past experiences

You think you’ll wait [x] minutes. Has that been your experience elsewhere?

Tell me about a doctor’s visit in the past. How long did you wait?

0–2 weeks post-visit

Last time we talked about your plans and expectations. Today, I would like to focus on how your visit actually went.

 

First impressions

How long did you wait?

How did you feel about the wait?

Tell me about the wait experience.

How different or similar was this from what you thought?

What did you do while you waited?

How long did the doctor spend with you?

Context

What did you like/not like about the clinic?

Using any number from 0 to 10, where 0 is the worst clinic possible and 10 is the best clinic possible, what number would you use to rate this clinic?

What are you thinking when you give a ___ rating?

What would make you give a 10 rating?

Actionable opportunities

What, if anything, could the clinic (or others) have done to make your experience at the clinic better?

What, if anything, do you wish you had known before coming to the clinic for the first time?

Is there anything the doctor could have done to make your experience better?

6–12 mos. post-visit

Last time we talked about how your first visit to the HIV clinic went. Today I’d like to talk about what’s gone on since that first visit. Tell me about your most recent visit with the HIV doctor.

 

Wait experience

How long did you wait?

How did you feel about the wait?

Tell me about the wait experience.

What did you do while you waited?

How long did the doctor spend with you?

Context

What did you like/ not like about the most recent clinic visit?

Using any number from 0 to 10, where 0 is the worst clinic possible and 10 is the best clinic possible, what number would you use to rate this clinic?

What are you thinking when you give a ___ rating?

What would make you give a 10 rating?

Actionable opportunities

What, if anything, could the clinic (or others) have done to make your experience at the clinic better?

Is there anything the doctor could have done to make your experience better?

If you could change one thing about your HIV doctor, what would you change?