Qualitative interview study, 36 carers

Qualitative study poster example

A qualitative study poster has to let the participants speak in a few words and still show how far each theme reached. This A0 portrait example reports 36 interviews with unpaid family carers about getting respite: four themes, each with one quote under 30 words and a count, led by respite as a fight in 28 of 36 interviews.

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The whole board

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FU
Why is respite so hard to get? Thematic analysis of 36 interviews with unpaid family carers
E. Brackwell ¹, D. Nakashima ¹ ²
1 School of Social Care, Fenwright University · 2 Carer Research Network, Fenwright University
Abstract
Unpaid carers are entitled to respite, yet most of those we spoke to had gone a year or more without a night off. We interviewed 36 carers recruited through four carer support services and asked how they had tried to arrange respite and what got in the way. Reflexive thematic analysis by two coders produced four themes. The strongest, respite as a fight, appeared in 28 of the 36 interviews. Guilt at handing over care appeared in 24, services built around their own timetable in 19, and the need to trust a stranger in 12. Carers rarely described a lack of services; they described the work of getting one.
Background
Respite is the most requested form of help in carer surveys and one of the least used. Survey data can count the gap but cannot say why it exists. Interviews let carers describe the steps between deciding they need a break and actually getting one, which is where we expected the gap to open. This study asks what those steps look like from the carer side, and which of them carers say made them give up.
METHODS
Participants. 36 unpaid carers of an adult relative, caring 20 or more hours a week, recruited through 4 carer support services.
Sampling. Purposive, for a spread of relationship, age of the person cared for, rural and urban homes, and past respite use.
Interviews. Semi structured, 45 to 80 minutes, by phone or at home, audio recorded and transcribed in full.
Analysis. Reflexive thematic analysis. Two coders coded every transcript and met after each block of six to refine the themes.
Counting. A theme was counted in an interview when either coder found it and both agreed after discussion.
PARTICIPANT FLOW
Carers referred by four services
61
Not eligible or declined
19
Consented
42
Withdrew before interview
6
Interviewed
36
Transcripts coded by two analysts
36
Fight
Guilt
Timetable
Trust
07142128
Figure 1. Interviews in which each theme appeared, of 36: fight 28, guilt 24, timetable 19, trust 12. Themes can overlap.
Source: 36 interview transcripts, two coders.
Four themes
Respite as a fight, 28 of 36: "Every week it is a phone call, then a form, then a no. I am fighting for one night." (C07, wife). Guilt at handing over, 24 of 36: "It feels like I am giving him away for the night." (C19, daughter). Built around their timetable, 19 of 36: "They offer Tuesday at ten, which is when he is at his worst." (C02, husband). Trusting a stranger, 12 of 36: "I need to see the same face twice before I can walk out the door." (C31, mother).
Key finding
28 of 36 carers described getting respite as a fight, not as a service.
Discussion
Carers asked less for more respite than for less work to get it: one contact, one form and a booking at a time that suits the person cared for. Guilt was common but rarely stopped a booking on its own. Recruiting through support services means carers with no service contact are missing. No new theme appeared after interview 30.
REFERENCES
1.Ostrowska, H. and Kemble, P. (2024) The respite gap in unpaid care. Journal of Family Care Studies, 15(3), 220 to 241.
2.Nakashima, D. (2025) Two coder reflexive analysis in care research. Fenwright Social Care Paper 4, 2025.

Block by block

What each block on the board is for, in the order a reader walks it.

Title band and two authors
The title asks why respite is hard to get and names the 36 interviews. Two authors from the fictional Fenwright University.
Abstract across the board
A full width abstract gives the sample, the analysis and all four themes with their counts before the reader reaches a column.
Background and methods
Background says why interviews, not a survey. Five method entries: participants, purposive sampling, the interviews, reflexive thematic analysis with two coders, and how a theme was counted.
Participant flow
Six boxes from 61 carers referred to 36 transcripts coded, with 19 declined or not eligible and 6 withdrawn beside the spine.
Figure 1 and four themes
Bars give the number of interviews each theme appeared in. The themes block quotes one carer per theme, each tagged with a code and relationship.
Key finding, discussion and references
The callout carries 28 of 36. The discussion turns the themes into what carers asked for and names the sampling limit. Two references close the board.

What makes this board work

Quotes short enough to read standing

Every quote is under 20 words, such as "It feels like I am giving him away for the night." A long transcript extract on a poster gets skipped; a line a passer by can read in two seconds gets remembered.

Counts without pretending to be a survey

Each theme carries the number of interviews it appeared in, 28, 24, 19 and 12 of 36, and the caption says themes overlap. That shows reach without implying the 36 carers stand for every carer.

The flow shows who is missing

61 referred less 19 declined is 42 consented, less 6 withdrawn is 36 interviewed. The discussion adds the bigger gap: carers with no service contact could not be referred at all.

Questions people ask

Should a qualitative poster count how often themes appear?

It can, if the board says what the count means. Here a theme was counted in an interview when either coder found it and both agreed, and the caption says themes overlap, so the counts add to more than 36. Counts show reach within the sample; they are not prevalence estimates for all carers.

How long should a quote on a poster be?

Under 30 words, and shorter is better. The four quotes on this board run 12 to 19 words, each followed by a participant code and relationship, such as C07, wife. One quote per theme is enough; a second belongs in the handout or the paper.

Does a qualitative poster need a participant flow?

It helps when recruitment lost people, because who declined shapes what the themes can say. This layout carries a six box flow block, used here for 61 referred, 42 consented and 36 interviewed. The block prints PARTICIPANT FLOW as its heading, which suits an interview study.

What goes in the methods of a thematic analysis poster?

Who took part and how they were chosen, how interviews ran, which kind of thematic analysis, how many coders and how they reconciled, and how themes were counted if you count them. Five labelled entries hold all of that here; reflexivity notes and the full codebook can wait for the paper.

Why does this board carry only two references?

The reference block on this journal style layout holds two entries, so the row asking for six had to choose. Pick the method source and the closest prior study, as this board does, and point to the full list in the paper. Writing more entries than the block holds only loses them.

How do I show coder agreement on a qualitative poster?

Describe the process rather than a single agreement score. This board says two coders coded every transcript, met after each block of six to refine the themes, and counted a theme only when both agreed. Reflexive thematic analysis treats coding as interpretation, so a kappa value would sit oddly beside it.

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