allocation in a focus group.
In recruiting the participants the researcher explained the aim and design of the study to four teams, two in each hospital, and handed out a written information bul- letin. One week after the team meeting, the researcher invited the MHNs to participate, and an appointment was made for either an individual interview or a focus group. More MHNs volunteered than required for the study, thus ensuring saturation. The participants were assured of anonymity and were free to leave the study whenever they wished. In total, 38 MHNs agreed to par- ticipate and they all remained in the study until the data collection was completed. Table 1 gives the characteris- tics of the participating MHNs.
Data collection
Data were collected through individual semi-structured interviews conducted with 21 MHNs, as well as via two focus groups with 10 and 7 MHNs respectively. Both the individual interviews and the focus groups were de- signed to elicit retrospective descriptions of cases in which the MHNs supported caregivers. The individual interviews aimed to gain in-depth insight into the re- spondents’ personal views and experiences concerning their caregiver support. The focus groups provided an opportunity to share views on the topic of caregiver sup- port, ensuring diversity of perceptions. This type of data triangulation facilitated a deeper understanding of the MHNs’ views on how they provided support to caregivers. The data-collection took place between November 2008 and October 2009. The interviews with the individual
Table 1 Characteristics of the study sample
Characteristics N =38 Gender Male 14
Female 24 Age 20–30 6 30–40 5 40–50 15 50+ 12 Education level Student 4 Graduate (Bachelor) 24 Applied Master’s Degree 5 Scientific Master’s Degree 5 Department Psychiatry Ambulant 28
Psychiatry Hospital 10
Years of experience MHN (n = 34) 19(mean)
3–40 (range) Students (n = 4) Traineeship