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Table 2 overview of the service user experiences interview schedule with examples

From: Developing a framework for gathering and using service user experiences to improve integrated health and social care: the SUFFICE framework

Interview section

Description

Interview schedule example

Introduction/basic information

This section focuses on gathering basic details about the service user and their current situation. It is also designed to help the interviewer and interviewee develop a rapport

Please tell me a little about yourself/the person you care for

Do you/they have any particular health conditions?

How old are you/they?

Timeline

This section involves using a simple timeline to record significant events and experiences over the past 6–12 months. It is designed to be a visual tool to help focus the interview and identify key episodes to explore in more detail

Instruction to interviewer: Use the timeline tool to identify key events and to generate discussion about the interviewee’s experience of health and social care

Question: Could you tell me about the care and support you/the person you are caring for has received over the last 6–12 months?

Key events/episodes

This section involves focusing in more detail on the key events experienced by the service user. It includes a series of prompts to help explore the different types of event that a service user might have experienced (assessment, receiving care and support, changing needs/crisis, accessing new services)

Instruction to interviewer: Using the timeline as a guide, focus on key events where things seemed to have gone well, along with those where things seemed to go wrong. Ask the interviewee to explore what happened and why they think things went well/badly.

Assessment prompts: How much time did the person assessing/planning your care spend with you? Did it feel like enough time?

How many people did you see during the assessment process?

  Who were they?

  What did they do/ask you?

  Where did you see them?

Did you feel listened to?