Semi-structured interviews

The PI conducted semi-structured interviews inspired by Kvale and Brinkmann²⁵ over a period of 9 months. The aim of the interviews was to obtain in-depth knowledge of patients’ and relatives’ perspectives on, experiences with, expectations, and quality assessment of the lung cancer package. Nineteen patients referred to the lung cancer package were included consecutively for semi-structured interviews from August 2016 to May 2017 (Table 2). All semi-structured interviews were conducted in patients’ homes. Nine patients chose to include a relative in the interview; six relatives were present during the whole interview, and three were present part of the time. The interviews took place after the diagnostic tests had been completed and before receiving the results of the diagnostic investigations, including a possible cancer diagnosis. This timing was chosen, in order to investigate patients’ and relatives’ perspectives on the fast track pathway at a time where a possible cancer diagnosis had not yet been confirmed or rejected. Each interview lasted between 25 and 65 min and followed an interview guide. The guide contained open questions to enable the patients to talk about their experiences from a first-person perspective. The interview guide was structured around three broad themes: (1) Patients’ conduct of everyday life and related sub-themes. (2) Patients’ experience of the fast track diagnostic pathway. (3) Patients’ quality assessment of the organization of the diagnostic pathway. Attention was directed at informant’s conduct of everyday life, including issues related to health and disease, and their life circumstances at the time before and while going through the diagnostic process. In this context, patients’ and relatives’ experiences and understandings of the fast track diagnostic pathway were explored. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim.

Patient characteristics (semi-structured interviews).