This study was guided by the common sense model of self regulation of health and illness of Other theoretical frameworks were considered but Leventhal et al.’s model was chosen as it provides a dynamic framework for understanding the complexities of behaviours in response to events such as illness. This approach proposes that in response to an illness or health threat, people form their own common sense beliefs or illness perceptions about their illness and treatment. These illness perceptions influence the types of healthy behaviours and coping strategies that patients use for managing their illness and these may impact on disease outcomes.