Table 2.

Interview Schedule

Understanding of health and disease

What does the word “health” mean to you?

How do people stay healthy?

Why do some people have better health than others?

Are people able to control their own health?

What is your image of the person who is at risk of heart disease?

What does fate mean to you?

Do you have a religious perspective on issues related to health and disease?

The condition

How did you get this condition and how was it diagnosed?

Do you have any symptoms, ailments, pains, of anything that limits your daily activities?

What influences how your condition will develop?

How will this condition influence your own future health?

To what extent are you able to influence how it develops?

Understanding of risk, own vulnerability to disease

What are the risks/uncertainties connected with your condition?

How do you estimate your own vulnerability of developing coronary heart disease?

Has the way you think about your own vulnerability to heart disease changed?

What does the risk mean for you personally?

What can you do to influence your risks?

Do you make any efforts at reducing your risk?

Experiences with the health service

How has your contact with the health service been?

How can health professionals help you manage your condition?

What do you think about the information you have been given?

Can health professional influence how you perceive your risk?

The psychosocial context

Has the condition influenced your quality of life?

Have you talked with people outside your family about your condition?

Can you give any examples of issues you would talk about?

How do your family and friends manage your condition?

How do you think other people perceive your condition (health professionals, friends, family, people in general)?

Sources of knowledge, media

What do you think about how your condition is portrayed in the media?

In what way does information in the media influence how you understand your condition?

Do you seek knowledge through other sources?