Table 3 Exemplar quotes from qualitative focus group discussions
Domain | Major theme | Exemplar quote |
|---|---|---|
Individual | Patient knowledge of disease process | “If my anticoagulation levels were high I would eat some watercress [leafy vegetable] for 3 days and lower them to 2–2.5 if find they are 1–1.5 I would eat some ginger for 3 days and It will return to a 3…Once they were shocked and told me my INR is 10, I said ok, just leave me for a few days in which I ate lentils and liver. After 3 days I returned and they checked it…it was 2.5” |
Interpersonal | Positive influence from other’s treatment success | “I see how [another patient] is living since she lives in our neighborhood… She is the one who is encouraging me to do the operation and get relieved from this stress…We had the wedding of her cousin in our same house and everybody was coming to say farewell to her. She was normal and the wedding proceeded normally and she did not suffer, God protected her” |
Systemic | Perceived superior quality of care at referral hospital | “But honestly I see Ahmed Gasim hospital [a referral hospital] as one of the best hospitals and this a truth. The doctors are great and collaborative with the patients” |
Individual | Misconception of disease/poor understanding of disease | “I mean drinking too much coffee and cigarettes. All these things cause complications and affect the heart because the heart is the main building which pushes the body. Also, too much stress affects the heartbeat, which affects the heart arteries” |
Injection pain | “Yes, it was painful and that was also a reason of stopping it, but I didn’t realize [stopping it] would deteriorate me to this stage” | |
Interpersonal | Poor communication between provider and patient | “Getting a definite date for surgeries is important. Especially for people who live in far areas. Meeting a doctor several times and not getting a definite date is frustrating. It would be very much comforting to be assigned a date at an early time” |
Systemic | Lack of transportation to appropriate healthcare facility | “Transportation is a major problem between the hospitals and from the house to the hospital. Autumn is 3–4 months and because of the rain you can’t leave your house and get medical care, there is also the issue of the bus fee” |