Table 1.

Themes in the framework

Theme	Description of themes and evidence from the transcripts
Consensus	Description: Expressions of agreement in opinion with other participants.
	Evidence: E.g. ‘I agree’; ‘yes’; repeating what an earlier participant said; rephrasing what another participant said; completing another participant’s sentence; adding similar comments in agreement.
Challenges	Description: Expressions of disagreement with other participants.
	Evidence: E.g. ‘I disagree’; offering a counter or different examples.
Unsolicited comments about ethnic and cultural differences	Description: Unsolicited comments about ethnic and cultural differences.
	Evidence: Spontaneous comments about the impact of ethnicity or culture on experiences of care
‘Controversial’ comments about ethnic differences (NB these do not include comments clearly intended to be humorous)	Description: Comments or descriptions that might suggest racial discrimination.
	Evidence: E.g. Comments about one ethnic group receiving preferential treatment because of their ethnicity.
References to external factors that may influence service quality	Description: References and descriptions to external factors that may impact on service quality.
	Evidence: E.g. Comments about financial restraints, cutbacks or limited funding.
Emphasis on providing the best care irrespective of ethnicity	Description: References to the importance of good quality care.
	Evidence: E.g. Comments about care workers ‘doing the best they can’.
Sharing personal/difficult or emotional stories	Description: Descriptions of difficult experiences and emotions.
	Evidence: E.g. Descriptions of negative emotions resulting from their caring situation; negative descriptions of the stroke survivor.