ideas for questions in interviews and focus groups

• Do you think of yourself as a healthy person?
• What do you do to try and stay healthy?
• How important is it to you to stay healthy?
• What do you think would be the single biggest thing you could do to improve your health?
• What stops you from doing that?
• What support do you find most helpful when you get ill?

Food/eating questions

• When you think about what you’re going to eat for tea, what are the main factors that will help you make your choice? (prompts: taste / cost / easy to make / health / what other people think)
• Describe to me the process of thinking about/cooking/eating your evening meal. (prompts: deciding what to have / who cooks / what time / who is eating / table vs lap / conversation over dinner / dessert / washing up)
• Describe your perfect meal situation.

Mental health

• When do you generally feel happiest?
• How do you cope when you feel down?
• Is there anything you do in your day-to-day life to make a positive difference to your mental health?
• What would be the single biggest change you could make to give you a more positive outlook?

Family/Relationships

• Who (if anyone) lives with you in your house?
• Do you have any caring responsibilities?
• Do you have anyone who can look after you if you need it?

Community/Politics

• What changes would you like to make to your community?
• Do you think the result of the EU Referendum will affect you?
• How do you feel about the result of the EU Referendum?
• Do you feel like you have the power to change your life for the better?
• How would you like the next generation’s lives to be better than yours?
• Do you vote? Why (not)?
• Tell us about one thing you’ve done that’s made a positive difference to other peoples’ lives.

Work/Education/Skills/Learning

• If you could learn a new skill, what would that be and why?
• If you could become an expert in one thing, what would that be and why?
• What would be your perfect job?
• Tell us about the best job you’ve ever had.
• Tell us about the worst job you’ve ever had.

Values

• If you could eat a meal with three well-known people, who would they be and why?
• What are the most important things for children to learn?
• What characteristics do you value in your friends?