Table 3.

Micro level of context: Activity types participants engaged in and interactional arrangements of intervention delivery

Activities, interactions involved in intervention delivery	Description
Main activity	Delivering telephone triage to patients requesting a same-day appointment with a GP. Patient calls the practice requesting SD appointment, receptionist puts them on a list for nurse/GP to call back; nurse/GP calls back to triage patient. If nurse, then uses CDSS to triage patient. Patient either booked into SD appointment with GP/nurse, given appointment on another day, given self-care advice, or other outcome.
Subsidiary activities	Receptionists follow script to speak to patients and determine eligibility, then if eligible, flag up on appointment screen for triaging clinician. Receptionists complete log sheets during audit and run-in phase. Clinicians to complete clinician form to record details of call. Practice Manager to collate numbers of eligible patients and numbers receiving intervention.
Interactional arrangements	Telephone triage comprising one-to-one interactions utilising focused questions directed at caller about patient’s presenting problem. In nurse triage, interactions are guided by CDSS.
Interactional expectations/understandings	Understandings of purpose of telephone triage may be diverse across patients, thereby influencing their expectations and how they participate in triage interactions.