Background Cultural beliefs and ways of thinking need to be considered when interviewing Arab participants with chronic diseases.

Aim To provide insights into the challenges of interviewing Arab participants.

Discussion This paper taps into the first author’s experiences of interviewing ten Arab participants with type 2 diabetes and coexisting depression. Issues relating to gatekeeping, gender, participants’ privacy and superstitious thinking need to be taken into consideration, particularly when discussing sensitive topics that may challenge social norms. These issues can influence the building of rapport, which may affect the depth of information collected.

Conclusion This paper offers insight and recommendations for other researchers conducting qualitative research with Arab participants.

Implications for practice Paramount in conducting qualitative studies with Arab participants are: an early, open discussion about personal space with participants and their families; matching the genders of participants and interviewers; and involving participants in the selection of pseudonyms.