The primary objective of the study was a thematic analysis of training materials, program packages and programmatic guidance related to supporting nutritional care for children with disabilities. The analysis was complemented with semi-structured key-informant interviews to help identify priority areas for improvement of the resources, and to place findings in context with the main barriers and facilitators to their use. A phenomenological approach was adopted to explore the key-informants real world experience of accessing and implementing these resources. 

A mixture of purposive and snowball sampling was used to email and invite professionals to share their expertise in a key-informant interview. Key-informants were selected based on experience at either program or policy level (ideally also with experience of front-line work) to achieve an overview of current global practice. The selection criteria aimed to identify experts from the field of nutrition or disability who also have the unique experience of managing the overlap of the two. Key-informants were selected to represent a variety of different professional backgrounds, sectors, and geographies. Purposive sampling started with 4 participants, and the remaining key-informants were snowball sampled until a sense of saturation was felt.

The interviews were semi-structured in nature, following a topic guide that covered all three objectives. The questions aimed to further explore the strengths and weaknesses of the resources available, the barriers and facilitators to their implementation, and finally identify priority areas for development of the literature. Early findings from the thematic analysis were used to refine the topic guide. 

The interviews were conducted via Zoom from the interviewers and key-informant’s home or work space. Meetings were recorded and transcribed using Zoom’s own closed caption software. The transcriptions were checked and edited on Microsoft Word by the interviewer, using audio recording of the meeting. Transcripts were made anonymous through the removal of any identifiable information and categorisation of job roles, projects, locations and organisations.