2.4. Procedures
Members of the research team reviewed the medical charts of all individuals attending outpatient weekly oncology clinics. A participant information leaflet (PIL) was attached to the charts of those who met the inclusion criteria. When these individuals checked-in for their clinic appointment, they were provided with the PIL by the clinic administrator with responsibility for checking-in patients as they arrive for clinic appointments. Eligible participants then had time to read the PIL while waiting to see a member of the healthcare team. During this meeting, clinic staff (i.e., nurse and oncologists) followed up with patients on their interest in participating in the study. During this call, the researcher explained the intervention, the study processes, including randomisation, and the long-term commitment required from participants for completion of three-month follow-up questionnaires. Participants then attended a meeting with a member of the research team (LB). During this meeting, LB once again clarified the requirements for participating in the study, obtained informed consent (in writing or verbally based on participants’ preferences and abilities) and completed baseline study measures. Previous research of OptiMal recommended group sizes of six to eight participants. Therefore, when a total of 16 individuals agreed to participate in the study and had completed the baseline, they were assigned participant ID numbers. Following this process, randomisation was carried out by a biostatistician using a computer-generated randomisation sequence, which only the biostatistician (KB) had access to and therefore was concealed from those delivering the intervention [