Table 1.

Semi-structured interview schedule.

Introduction: Explanation of project, consent forms, expenses, demographic data, confidentiality

Understanding and management of MSK condition

1.   Can you tell me about your arthritis? (Prompts: how did it develop, how does it impact on your life, what do you find helpful in managing it?)

2. How does having difficulty reading, writing or doing maths affect you doing this?

(Prompt: what barriers do you have to managing your arthritis? What helps you?)

Exploring participation in MSK patient education

3.   Have you ever taken part in patient education for your condition?

(Prompts: When was this? What was it about? What was it like?)

4.   Did the patient education help you to manage your condition on a day to day basis?

5.   Did the patient education help you in overcoming any difficulties? How?

6.   In your experience, what information was most helpful in helping you manage?

7.   In your experience, what information was least helpful in helping you manage?

Strategies to overcome difficulties when dealing with health professionals

8. What do you do to help overcome trouble with reading, writing and maths?

(Prompt: do you have any trouble working out when and how much to take of your tablets, completing forms, dealing with hospital appointment letters, for example? What helps in these situations?)

9.   What do you think you need to know to effectively deal with your condition?

10.  What do you think you need to be able to do to effectively deal with your condition?

11.  Can you think of some different ways in which health professionals might be able to give you information that would help you deal with your condition better?

12.  What do you think health professionals need to know to help you manage your condition?

13.  What do you think health professionals need to be able to do to help you manage your condition?

14.  How do you decide what works for you and what doesn’t? What would make a difference to managing your arthritis for you?

Exploration of broader health literacy issues

15.  What are your thoughts on hospital sites measuring literacy levels of patients so that they would know if people needed extra help?

16.  Could you tell us your thoughts on patients being identified at hospital by a sticker on their notes or something that tells the staff that the person has lower levels of literacy?

17.  Can you think of anything else that might be useful to know when thinking about patient education and MSK conditions?

18.  What would you say are your priorities in life?

(Prompt: if you had to list them in order of importance, what would the first one be? Where does your health and arthritis fit in?)

Summary Any other points, thanks, summary. Completion of REALM-SF. Finish.