Table 1 Interview Guide for Older Adults with Multiple Chronic Conditions

Experiences in Managing Multiple Chronic Conditions

 1. Tell me about your experiences in living with more than one chronic condition at a time.

 2. What do you do to prevent your chronic conditions from getting worse or new ones from developing?

 3. How do you make decisions about what chronic conditions or symptoms to manage first?

 4. How do you manage taking medications for your chronic conditions?

Facilitators in Managing Multiple Chronic Conditions

 5. What helps you to manage your chronic conditions (i.e. people, resources)?

Challenges in Managing Multiple Chronic Conditions

 6. What are some of the challenges you face in living with more than one condition at a time?

 7. What makes it difficult for you to manage more than one chronic condition at a time?

Family Caregivers (only ask if client has listed a caregiver on the Demographic questionnaire)

 8. You listed that you have (a) family caregiver(s); can you tell me more about how your caregiver helps you manage your chronic conditions.

 9. What makes it difficult for your family caregiver to support you?

 10. Is there anything else you would like them to do for you? Explain.

Health and Social Services

 11. What supports do you receive to help you live with more than one condition at a time?

 12. Do these services help you to manage your conditions? Please explain.

 13. Older adults living with more than one condition often have multiple healthcare providers and services. How is your care coordinated among these providers and services? How could your care be better coordinated?

Discussing Conditions and Making Treatment Decisions with Health Professionals

 14. Have you talked with health professionals about managing more than one chronic condition at a time? Tell me about that.

 15. How have you worked with the health professionals in making decisions about your care?

 16. Can you give me an example of a situation where you did not get the help you needed related to managing more than one chronic condition?

Treatment and Care Preferences

 17. What do you hope to achieve in your management of more than one chronic condition at a time?

 18. In order to achieve these outcomes what types of help would you find most useful?

 19. What technology supports do you use to manage your chronic conditions? Please share your experience with using these.

 20. Is there anything else you would like to share about managing more than one chronic condition at a time?