Document is current

Article History

Received: 26 March 2024

Accepted: 28 October 2024

First Online: 12 November 2024

Declarations

:

: This study was conducted in accordance with the ethical guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki []. This study was submitted to the Regional Committee for Medical and Health-Related Research Ethics in Mid Norway (No. 2019/988/REK-midt), which assessed and concluded that the project was exempt from the requirements of the Health Research Act []. The Norwegian Centre for Research Data (now named SIKT - Norwegian Agency for Shared Services in Education and Research) approved that the processing of personal data complied with personal data legislation in Norway (No. 241115).All participants received written and verbal information regarding the study purpose and were given opportunities to ask questions about anything that was unclear or difficult to understand. It was made clear that participation was voluntary and that they could withdraw from the study at any time, without having to provide a reason. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to the face-to-face interviews. For the telephone interviews, participants had to provide verbal informed consent prior to the interview by answering the following three questions: (i) whether they had received information about the project, (ii) whether the information was understood or if anything was unclear, and (iii) whether they voluntarily agreed to participate in the telephone interview. This was clarified and performed in accordance with guidelines from the Norwegian Centre for Research Data (No. 241115). Participants provided written informed consent following the telephone interviews. Confidentiality was safeguarded throughout the project to protect participants’ personal data. We ensured that encrypted audio recordings, consent forms, and personally identifiable information were kept in a locked cabinet in a locked office, separate from de-identified transcripts. We have been careful with using quotations and have created broad demographic categories, such as age and length of stay in Norway, to minimize the risk of participant identification.

: Not applicable.

: The authors declare no competing interests.