Table 1.

Themes and sub-themes likely to explain responses to questions about barriers and facilitators to attendance

Theme	Sub-theme	Sample quote	Participant
Departmental context and resources	Scheduling and rostering	“if you can manage your own diaries, I don’t think it makes a big difference to you because if I did attend I could go for lunch afterwards. Whereas a staff member on the ward I think that’s a lot more important to them, that they’re able to get their lunch as well.”	Nurse/Midwife G
		“And there’s no good time in maternity, as far as I could see for any education sessions like this. And it’s an ongoing battle really as to what is the most suitable one. But I’d say perhaps it is as suitable as any time.”	Nurse/Midwife A
		“it kept to the time limit. And I think that’s really important because sometimes things can go way beyond the time frame. And people lose interest. And very often they have other things and deadlines to get to and meetings to get to.”	Physician E
		“And we did ensure, it was one of the things that I did, that staff would get time back and let them know that if they did come in on their time, in their own time they get 2 h’ time away. One or two did come in in their own time but not not [sic] much.”	Nurse/Midwife E
		“the obstetric site has few people turn up, it’s also they have their Friday lunch time meeting with free lunch as well.”	Physician C
	Workload and staffing levels	“If you’re going to be short staffed starting off in the day there’s absolutely no way anybody can go.”	Nurse/Midwife B
		“people like me who are floaters around the place and can leave there, get up and leave and it’s the people at the bedside that can’t get up and leave and attend these meetings. I see that a lot”	Nurse/Midwife F
		“there is always the potential that you’re going to be called away from some task to do another task that’s considered more important. And we run an acute service here so it’s an acute delivery service and acute neonatal unit.. .. .. So it is difficult for us to get protected time to do things. We don’t have it basically.”	Physician D
		“I know it’s not easy because of staff constraints at the minute. That a lot of leave, not being replaced, and all that, that it is difficult to release people, even for their mandatory training. And therefore, they find it very difficult to come to other training.”	Nurse/Midwife A
	Organisational climate	“I do find it very challenging here to be honest. I organised a talk last week and I had 2 people attend and it was announced by, you know it was very pertinent to everything.”	Nurse/Midwife G
Social context	Interprofessional and multiple disciplinary approach	“the multidisciplinary approach that everybody was involved in it, you know, we can be very segregated. So I think it was important that everybody worked together.”	Nurse/Midwife D
		“I thought this was a good one. Because it brought together the obs [obstetric] and the neonatal end of things. So that was certainly very positive.”	Physician D
		“I think the multidisciplinary aspect of it. I think it wasn’t just one particular person presenting the whole thing. Having a team and each person having their specific work designated.”	Physician E
	Influence of senior staff	“. .. the consultants needing to attend and show the interest. Because here nothing happens unless they show that (. ..) if the consultants support it, certainly they’d get all their Regs [Registrars] and SHOs on board because they’ll do anything that they tell them. And from a midwifery perspective if the managers are on board and encouraging. I think that’s the main thing.”	Nurse/Midwife G
		“And it’s also I think really important as a [high level staff member] to attend these meetings. So I think you set a good example then to the junior staff that these are important to attend.”	Physician E
Individual level factors	Perceived benefit	“But it may be down the road where I’m not chasing every study opportunity that I get, that I would be more selective about topics but it wasn’t an issue for me, the topics, they were all of interest so far.”	Nurse/Midwife E
		“But again it’s very hard to get people who have been, you know a role, an active role in the hospital to take an hour out of their day to attend something, you know unless there’s some carrot there, there was the education bit, there was lunch and it was well advertised.”	Physician D
		“it’s just a suggestion for one thing. Like providing you know, CPD hours for these activities, would make them even more. Would make people more like want to come even more.”	Physician F
		“I loved getting certificates (inaudible speech & laughter), we do have to kind of show that we’re improving our practice and going to different study days (. ..) it’s a good way of bringing the current evidence I suppose into practice. You know and just looking at our own practice and seeing if there’s ways of improving it or not.”	Nurse/Midwife C
		“. . .when people do get certificates they, it does motivate attendance. Because then they can claim that they had one hour at this meeting and they have the certificate then to support that and back them up.”	Physician E