Table 1.

Examples of question topics related to NPT constructs

Normalisation process theory constructs and components	NHS staff/therapist interview topics (some may also arise in informal feedback during training observations)	Stroke participant interview topics (some may also arise in intervention/usual care observations)	Employer interview topics
Coherence: Differentiation Communal specification Individual specification Internalisation	How do staff describe the intervention? How is the intervention similar to/different from usual care? Who would (most) benefit from the intervention?	Experiences of RTW support received: similarities/differences between control and intervention participants	Experience of liaising with the therapist and/or participant on RTW issues
Cognitive participation Initiation Enrolment Legitimation Activation	Do staff see value/potential in the intervention? Have they found the training and experience a worthwhile investment of time? Do they feel they have the competence/resources to deliver the intervention effectively?	What were their expectations? Did patients (and carers) value the intervention? How did they respond to the therapists’ suggestions? Did they feel they had the ability/resources/confidence to progress through the sessions and ultimately RTW? Context in which participant received RETAKE/acted on suggestions: social, financial, health state, access to opportunities	Expectations of the processes: liaising with therapist/patient and patient’s RTW (Prior) experience in supporting RTW for people with disabilities
Collective action Interactional workability Relational integration Skill set workability Contextual integration	How compatible is the intervention with the existing stroke care pathway? What other RTW services/resources exist locally? How does this intervention compare/complement those services? Describe working relationships with those services. Support from managers and colleagues during the intervention period	How did participants accommodate the intervention sessions/follow-up actions? How did they manage/are they managing their RTW (if applicable)? Financial implications	Views on who is responsible /roles in supporting RTW Financial implications for example, modifications
Reflexive monitoring Systematisation Communal appraisal Individual appraisal Reconfiguration	Perceived effects on patients (and carers) Views on time/resources invested in delivery vs impact What is needed to make it possible to roll out the intervention effectively? (Changes to intervention; changes in services/resources needed for delivery)	Perceived effects of RETAKE/other RTW support Views on time/resources invested in participation vs impact What was good about RETAKE and what could be improved? (Content of intervention sessions/work plans, timing, relationship with therapist)	Perceptions of benefit to employer/tutor/advisor Perceptions of benefit to employee What was helpful about discussions with therapist/participant? What further information/support would they have liked—at what time?

NHS, National Health Service; NPT, normalisation process theory; RETAKE, RETurn to work After stroKE; RTW, return to work.