Table 2 Interview Guide for Family Caregivers of Older Persons with Multiple Chronic Conditions

Experiences in Managing Multiple Chronic Conditions

 1. Tell me about your experiences in providing care to your family member who is managing more than one condition at a time?

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

 3. How do you help your family member manage taking medications for all their chronic conditions?

Facilitators in Managing Multiple Chronic Conditions

 4. What helps you to manage your family member’s chronic conditions (i.e. people, resources)?

Challenges and Rewards in Managing Multiple Chronic Conditions

 5. What are some of the challenges you face in providing care to your family member who has a number of chronic conditions?

 6. What makes it difficult for you to support them?

 7. What are some of the rewards in your caregiving role?

Health and Social Services

 8. What supports does your family member receive to help them live with more than one condition at a time?

 9. What supports do you receive in your caregiving role? Describe.

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

Discussing Conditions and Making Treatment Decisions with Health Professionals

 11. Have you talked with health professionals about ways to help your family member manage more than condition at a time? Tell me about that.

 12. How have you worked with the health professional in making decisions about your family member’s care?

 13. Can you give me an example of a situation where you did not get the help you needed to support your family member in managing more than one condition at a time?

Treatment and Care Preferences

 14. What do you hope to achieve for your family member in their management of more than one condition at a time?

 15. In order to achieve these outcomes what types of help would you find most useful in supporting your family member?

 16. What technology supports do you use to help manage your family member’s chronic conditions? Please share your experience with using these.

 17. Is there anything else you would like to share about being a caregiver for an older person with multiple chronic conditions?