Table 1.
Details on the municipalities and focus groups included in the study
| Centrality* | Number of inhabitants | Distance to nearest hospital | Focus group (FG) | Number and designation of healthcare provides (HCP) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Municipality 1 | Least central municipality | ~ 5,000 | > 100 km | FG 1 | 5 (HCP 1–1– HCP 1–5) |
| Municipality 1 | FG 2 | 6 (HCP 2−1– HCP 2–6) | |||
| Municipality 2 | Second least central municipality | ~ 10, 000 | Within the municipality | FG 3 | 2 (HCP 3−1– HCP 3−2) |
| Municipality 2 | FG 4 | 2 (HCP 4−1– HCP 4−2) | |||
| Municipality 3 | Mid-central municipality; small town | ~ 20, 000 | > 100 km | FG 5 | 6 (HCP 5−1– HCP 5–6) |
| Municipality 4 | Mid-central municipality; city | > 50, 000 | Within the municipality | FG 6 | 5 (HCP 6−1– HCP 6−5) |
FG focus group, HCP healthcare provider. HCP 1–1 indicates that the participant was in the first focus group and is designated as the first participant, etc
*The classification is based on Statistics Norway’s index of municipal centrality, which calculates centrality using municipal characteristics such as distance to urban centres, share of the population living in urban areas, and distance to workplaces and services [29]