Table 5 Example quotes from participant interviews about acceptability of trial processes

Views about allocation

I would have been happy with either way, but I was really pleased to have been assigned to the group for the reason that I was hoping to meet other people who are in a similar situation to me... [Intervention participant]

I was a bit disappointed because I thought I could do this every week, it will get me out of the house, because that would have given me the incentive to go somewhere and it would have been a walk and some exercise to get there. [Control participant]

…depending on your personal circumstances, work, things like that… I know it’s supposed to be a random choice about who did the meetings or who did it online, but maybe a slight conversation with some parent carers to say ‘Which would be better for you?’ then maybe a choice rather than it being too random might be better. [Intervention participant]

Views about measures

I don’t really mind doing questionnaires anyway, depending on how it’s written, but they weren’t onerous questionnaires, they were alright… I just did them and was pleased with the vouchers.

I enjoyed those actually, I thought they were good. It was just nice to be asked the right questions for once.

I found it really emotional at the beginning and I must admit, I would have preferred to have done it on my own because I got really choked up at times. (…) It was at a time when I was really struggling emotionally. I really didn’t want to be observed. (…) The end questionnaire, I felt slightly nervous because I didn’t remember what I put in the first one. I thought, I really want this to be a success because I think it is great, but if I don’t answer the right questions will it not be a success?

I had no problems with [completing the questionnaires] because that is just something that we are used to doing now, to be honest. There was a fear, I will not lie, at the back of my mind of safeguarding issues. It always… constantly, as a parent of a disabled child, I think it is always… you worry that you fill in a questionnaire and somebody… a red flag is going to go up and somebody is going to come down on you and say, ‘Look, we have got concerns for your children’s safety’… I was a little bit anxious about filling it out but I did answer it honestly. Ironically… I actually think my after ones are possibly the answers that are not quite so good in terms of my mental health than the beginning ones but like I say, that is circumstances out of your control because it is nothing to do with reflecting on the course. It is just purely that we have had so much negativity and bad things happening in the last six weeks that that is possibly reflected in that.