| 152 the three options were explained to the participant in the inclusion procedure. Online focus groups and interviews were held via ZOOM video conferencing (38). Participants who wanted to participate in a focus group were assigned to a focus group based on availability in diaries. Participants were offered a manual on how to use ZOOM and an orientation session to minimize potential technical difficulties. Online focus groups lasted approximately two hours and the maximum group size was five participants (39). Interviews lasted between 30 and 60 minutes and people with dementia were offered a dyadic option that included their caregiver. Telephone interviews were offered as some participants were not comfortable or did not have the technology to participate via videoconference. Participants were unaware of researchers’ personal goals and reasons for doing the research. Data saturation was briefly discussed by the research team and whilst it was considered important, given the time constraints and project deadlines, a decision was made to conclude data collection before ensuring saturation. Demographic information (age, gender, type of dementia, time since diagnosis) was collected orally at the start of data collection (interviews) or beforehand (focus groups) and stored in password-protected files. The semi-structured topic guides for people with dementia and caregivers were largely similar and used ‘projective techniques’ whereby participants could project their experiences onto a fictional woman with dementia, and her husband across four time points; during a diagnostic conversation with a doctor; a few weeks later; a few months later and at one year after diagnosis. Worksheets included pictures for each time point and ‘thought bubbles’ to help participants discuss their feelings and thoughts. Australia and the Netherlands pilot-tested the topic guides and developed an interview guide for researchers conducting interviews and focus groups. Each country utilized this interview guide with prompts to ensure consistent data collection across countries. This technique and its benefits are described in more detail by Philipson and Hevink (40). Online focus groups and interviews were audio and video-recorded, telephone interviews were audio-recorded. Only participants and researchers were present during data collection. Data were transcribed and interviewers made field notes. Summaries of field notes were reported in a template to aid consistency. No repeat interviews were conducted, and transcripts were not checked by participants. Across four countries, 12 female interviewers were
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