Methodological quality assessment of the 13 included studies based on Critical Appraisal Skills Programme criteria
| First author [ref.] (year) | Population | Aims | Qualitative methods appropriate | Connection to theoretical framework | Recruitment strategy | Data collection | Reflexivity | Ethical issues | Data analysis | Clear statement of findings | Value of research | Total score# |
| Belkin [26] (2014) | Caregivers | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0.5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9.5 |
| Burnett [22] (2019) | People with IPF | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0.5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9.5 |
| Duck [23] (2015) | People with IPF and caregivers | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| Graney [18] (2017) | People with PF | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1 | 0.5 | 1 | 1 | 8.5 |
| Graney [25] (2017) | Caregivers | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0.5 | 1 | 0.5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| Khor [19] (2017) | People with ILD | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0.5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9.5 |
| Khor [30] (2017) | Respiratory physicians | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0.5 | 1 | 0.5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| Lindell [21] (2019) | Any lung disease | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| Ramadurai [27] (2018) | People with IPF and caregivers | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0.5 | 1 | 1 | 0.5 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| Sampson [28] (2015) | People with IPF and caregivers | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1 | 0.5 | 1 | 1 | 8.5 |
| Schoenheit [20] (2011) | People with IPF | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0.5 | 1 | 1 | 0.5 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| Visca (2018) [29] | People with fibrotic ILD and caregivers | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1 | 0.5 | 1 | 1 | 8.5 |
1: criterion completely met; 0.5: criterion partially met; 0: criterion not applicable, not met or not mentioned. IPF: idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis; PF: pulmonary fibrosis; ILD: interstitial lung disease. #: scores of 9–10 are defined as high quality, scores 7.5–9 as moderate quality and <7.5 as low quality.