Table 1 Interview guideline for semi-structured telephone interviews

1.What does a typical day in your practice/on your station look like?

Important points that should be answered within this question:

▪ What are your main activities at work?

▪ How many patients do you treat every day on average?

▪ How much time do you have on average for one treatment?

▪ How many breaks do you take per day? How long are these?

▪ Do you have additional time slots for scheduling and documentation tasks?

▪ Is tidying and cleaning a part of your responsibilities? If so, do you do this within working hours?

2.Do you have the feeling that your work as physiotherapist has an impact on your health in any way (positive or negative)?

Important points that should be answered within this question:

▪ In what area of your health do you think your work has a special influence and how does this manifest itself? – With respect to e.g.,: physical health; mental health; skin complaints/disorders or infections

▪ Do you think that the physiotherapy knowledge and the work in this area are beneficial to your health?

▪ Do you have complaints/diseases, which are associated with your work as a physiotherapist?

3.What factors (activities, circumstances etc.) do you see in your work as physiotherapist as particularly stressful?

▪ If symptoms/diseases exist that originate from the physiotherapy work:

- What do you think are the specific working conditions/factors that have led to these complaints/diseases?

▪ How do you deal with the designated strain? What do you do for compensation? – e.g., leisure activities (sports etc.) or compensation with additives within the stressful activity

4.How do you feel when you go to work in the morning or come back home in the evening?

Important points that should be answered within this question:

▪ Do you look forward to your work and the contact with patients?

▪ What do you like/do you not like about your job?

▪ With your current knowledge, would you absolve qualification as a physiotherapist once again?

▪ Have you ever thought about leaving your job? Why?

▪ Are you planning to attend any further training/study? What?