Subjects
After gaining approval from local research ethics committees, we recruited patients from three general practices in east London known to have a high proportion of Bangladeshi patients. Using computerised diabetes registers where available, and otherwise by manual search of case notes, we identified patients with diabetes and approached them to request a tape recorded interview. Recruitment was usually by letter followed up by telephone call, but in one practice we recruited opportunistically through practice receptionists when patients came to book appointments or collect prescriptions. In all, 40 of the 44 Bangladeshi subjects we approached agreed to be interviewed.