Table 2.

Quote excerpts from focus group discussions illustrating modifying factors in the decision to engage in lateral learning, May 2017.

Factor	Quote	Participant location
Time or availability	Honestly I don’t have much time so I would not access [additional materials].	Thái Nguyên
	Q: Is there anybody who answered without checking any source? All: Yes, when we are too busy.	Hải Phòng
	There are other things to do apart from studying. Actually, there are very few people who have time to participate in the courses at home, and studying when working often gets interrupted.	Quảng Ninh
Professional relevance	I would spend more time studying work-related topics, I researched more and often got a high score; other than that I would skip.	Thái Nguyên
	The [materials] are directly related to my work, so I need to study to improve my knowledge.	Thái Nguyên
	I believe that people directly treating patients would know more than us, so for those who do not know much about HIV/AIDS like us, reading is very important.	Thái Nguyên
Convenience	I could study at home. There is no need to go to class, so it is time and cost effective.	Hải Phòng
	All: Studying on our phones is more convenient because it is not possible to bring our laptops along all of the time.	Quảng Ninh
	The most beneficial thing for us working at medical centers is that we can study anywhere, without having to attend classes; it is suitable for those who live far away from the training centers.	Thái Nguyên
Perceived quality of resources	The links provide more information from research, which is very useful.	Quảng Ninh
	Some lectures were not updated, although the official documents and national treatment guides are changed frequently.	Thái Nguyên
	The current explanation in the links was short and insufficient; there should be more information so we wouldn’t have to access other sites.	Thái Nguyên
Subject matter expertise	Unlike those of you who have been in this program for one year and have experience and knowledge, I am totally new to this field and I need to search for information.	Quảng Ninh
	People who are new to this information will be more motivated to study. I have already been trained about this before so I don’t actively participate in the courses, although I think they are useful for me.	Quảng Ninh
Technology literacy or accessibility	The password is hard to remember. Sometimes I have to type it from the beginning.	Quảng Ninh
	My limitation would be my bad eyesight. I would only read the links if I was on the computer.	Thái Nguyên
	It may take 1 or 2 weeks for us to remember the phone number [text message] of the program.	Hải Phòng
Motivation	I like it best when having group discussion, sending the answer, and then receiving “Congratulations” on giving the right answer.	Quảng Ninh
	If studying time is taken into account to decide whether or not one could receive a certificate, I will have a purpose and be more motivated to study.	Quảng Ninh
	When I have answered too many quizzes and my score is low compared to the group average, I will read the daily readings to gain more knowledge.	Hải Phòng