Table III.

An overview of included papers of patients’ treatment experiences.

References	Aim/research question	Recruitment methods	Setting	Diagnostic criteria	Research design and analysis	Intervention	Sample characteristics	Findings expressed in the authors’ themes
Broughton et al., 2017 UK	To explore experiences of patients who were completing a treatment at specialist clinics	Convenience sampling	Specialist clinics	Diagnosed- criteria not reported	Semi-structured, individual interviews Thematic analysis	Comprehensive treatment including CBT and GET	14 women. 2 men Age 24 to 62 yrs Illness duration 1 to 17 yrs	Journey to specialist care, Things that hinder treatment Support systems
Cheshire et al., 2020 UK	What are the differences and similarities in treatment perceptions and experiences of guided graded exercise among those reporting improvements compared with those deteriorated?	Strategic sampling according to responses to questionnaires showing much improvements/much deterioration	Specialist clinic	Diagnosed—criteria not reported	Semi-structured, individual interviews Thematic analysis	Guided graded exercise self-help (GES)	17 women, 3 men Age 21 to 66 yrs	Getting started and false starts Indeterminate phase of GES Competing commitments Interfering symptoms and comorbid conditions Maintaining motivation
Chew-Graham et al., 2011 UK	What factors are important for patients to engage in a new intervention?	Purposive sampling from an RCT trial	Primary health care	Diagnosed by Oxford criteria	Semi-structured individual interviews Inductive thematic analysis based on data from those in trial arm	Nurse-led rehabilitation program	13 women, 6 men Age 23 to 61 yrs Illness duration 9 months to 16 yrs	Feeling accepted by therapist Own acceptance of diagnosis Accept of (treatment) model
Dennison et al., 2010 UK	To examine participants’ views and experiences of taking part in family-focused cognitive behavioural therapy	All participants in an RCT around three years earlier were invited	Outpatient clinic at a hospital	Diagnosed—criteria not reported	Semi-structured individual interviews Inductive thematic analysis	Either cognitive behavioural therapy or psycho-education	16 out of 46 invited were interviewed 10 women, 6 men Age 16 to 24 yrs	Pre-therapy ideas and expectations Therapy experiences Perspectives on effectiveness
McDermott et al., 2011 UK	To explore hopes and expectations of patients newly referred to a ME/CFS centre	All referred to the service last five months were invited	Specialist clinic	Diagnosed—criteria not reported	Semi-structured individual interviews Constant comparative analysis	Self-help advice to improve symptoms informed by Lifestyle Management Group Program	20 out of 56 invited were interviewed 17 women, 3 men Age 22 to 60 yrs	Needing a diagnosis In search of guidance and support Engaging with complexity to understand the illness In search of hope for the future
Picariello et al., 2017 UK	To explore the reasons for why some patients engage in treatment more than others, and to assess whether CBT meets patients’ needs	Consecutively recruited if finished or in follow-up after treatment	Specialist clinic	Diagnosed—criteria not reported	Semi-structured individual interviews Inductive thematic analysis	Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)	13 out of 32 invited were interviewed 11 women, 2 men Age 18 to 64 yrs	Hopes and expectations Real, not imagined Collaborative therapeutic alliance Motivation and engagement Gain and loss Change
Pinxsterhuis et al., 2015 Norway	To elicit participants’ experiences with a patient education programme and its usefulness	All participants in a patient education, self-management programme were invited	Outpatient clinic at a hospital	Centres for Disease Control and Prevention—1994 criteria and Canadian Consensus Criteria	Focus group interviews immediately and 9 months after the program Thematic analysis	A self-management programme based on envelope and self-efficacy theories	10 out of 33 invited were interviewed 8 women, 2 men Age 32 to 57 yrs Illness duration 2.5 to 20 yrs	Experiences of chaos and insecurity Experiences of understanding, acceptance and coping Mediating factors
Reme et al., 2013 US/UK	To explore the experienes of young people after having undergone Lightening process	Recruited through a website for young people with ME	Members of website forum	Oxford criteria	Semi-structured individual interviews Inductive thematic analysis	Lightening Process	8 females, 1 male Age 14 to 26 yrs Illness duration 2 to 12 yrs	Pretreatment thoughts and expectations Experiences with treatment Perspectives on effectiveness