Table 1

Data collected at different stages during the study

PrestudyData collection (24 hours)Poststudy

  • Interview (1 hour)

  • Participant demographics questionnaire

  • Multimorbidity Illness Perceptions Scale41

  • Photos of participant’s home (where appropriate)

  • Body-worn camera

  • Time-use diary (online supplementary appendix 1)

  • Reconstruction interview (30–40 min)

  • Participant experience Questionnaire

  • Researcher’s notes

  • The following instruments and equipment will be used for data collection:

    • Time-use diary. The self-report time-use diary is a validated tool39 and the version used in this study is the Harmonised European Time-Use Diary42 (UK version). For details of the time-use diary, please see online supplementary appendix 2. This method of using free-text time-use diaries to self-report activities has high statistical validity and good acceptance rates with volunteer participants (ranging from 56% to 100%).39 46

    • Photos. With permission from the participant, photos of their medications, medical devices and home surroundings will be taken to inform about the participant’s physical environment. Should the participants reside in an environment that can affect their healthcare (eg, a house with stairs and a risk for falls), these issues will be taken into consideration. Participants will be alerted should an immediate and significant risk be identified.

    • Body-worn camera. The body-worn camera (Edesix VB-300, Edinburgh) will automatically record silent continuous video footage. It can be attached to clothing and/or worn on a lanyard. Previous studies with body-worn cameras showed high degrees of acceptability, with acceptance rates ranging from 70% to 100%,39 46 47 especially when participants are reassured they can remove the camera if they feel the recording may intrude on their privacy.39 46

    • Demographic questionnaire. The demographic questionnaire (online supplementary appendix 3) will be administered during the prestudy session and takes about 10 min to complete.

    • The Multimorbidity Illness Perceptions Scale. The Multimorbidity Illness Perceptions Scale41 (online supplementary appendix 4) is validated statistically and was developed to capture the perception of patients with comorbidities about their health.41 Illness perception is known to affect and predict health-related behaviour, to the extent that patients who perceive their diseases as more controllable are more likely to engage in adaptive strategies,48 thus directly affecting the patient work they engage in. The Scale will be administered during the prestudy session and takes approximately 5 min to complete.

    • Participant experience questionnaire. A participant experience questionnaire (online supplementary appendix 5) will be administered during the poststudy session. This is estimated to take approximately 10 min.

    • Researcher notes. A summary of each participant will be written up within a week after the poststudy session, summarising the researcher’s observations of the participant, home context and any feedback from the participant at different stages of the study.