Data Collection and Analysis

The form of the data collection interview, focus group or personal interview, was designed to be assigned according to the participant’s convenience. Since Cyprus is a small island with approximately 1 million citizens, some of the participants were reluctant to participate in focus group discussions due to the social stigma of mental illness [40]. Participation in personal interviews was expected to preserve their anonymity.

A semistructured guide with open-ended questions, set up by the research team according to relevant literature, was used for data collection in this stage. The interview guide included the following questions:

Please tell us what you know about your mental health condition/BD.

Please describe what you would like to know about bipolar disorders.

Please describe in what way and on what topics you would like to be educated and increase your knowledge on bipolar disorders?

Please describe your expectations from an educational intervention regarding its impact on your everyday living.

Would you like this intervention to be implemented one-on-one or in a group?

How long would you like the intervention to last?

What is your level of engagement with the internet?

Are you familiar with computer use?

The original intention was to have two focus groups (6-10 people per group); however, in the process of the research, only one focus group was ultimately deemed to be necessary. The focus group participants met two to three times. In the second meeting, the themes revealed in the first meeting were verified and enriched where possible. During the third meeting, the researchers interpreted the data, followed by a discussion with the participants. This method was also applied to personal interviews (2-3 meetings with each participant). Data analysis was based on the conventional mode of content analysis [41].