Table 2 A summary of the emergent sub-themes, themes, and core theme
Examples of participants’ responses | Code | Sub-theme | Theme |
|---|---|---|---|
I’m not sitting in this chair and nodding off so much, I have a little more energy and I think I have a little more appetite. For some reason, I have lost some appetite over the last few years, but it has come back a bit now. I can feel I’m hungry now, for a while I didn’t notice it. So, there was a time when I stopped exercising and sat nodding off, had no appetite...it’s gotten a little better now (Participant ID 1) | •Inactivity/sedentary behavior •Energy •Positive change/experience | The older person’s desire to cope with everyday life | The tension between knowing and doing |
It wasn’t out of great desire or eagerness from me, but I am so sensible and there is so much health in it ... I have told the physiotherapist that it is not out of desire and interest that I am here, but I realize I need to do something (Participant ID 4) | •Unmotivated •Positive change/experience •Reality check •Motivation to exercise | Acquiring knowledge; knowledge as the basis for evidence-based practice | |
Empathy is important too; without it something may go wrong. You have to get into things - me and the neighbor may want to experience things completely differently, and we would have different needs even if we were dealing with the same illness … and it is perhaps what a therapist with experience will find out more easily than a recently graduated one? (Participant ID 2) | Importance of knowledge •Diversity/heterogeneity •Different needs •Importance of therapist’s experience/the therapist as a human expert •Getting into things | Evidence balanced by understanding, empathy, and sympathy | The power of the therapist-participant relationship and the process of putting knowledge into action |
He was so safe and secure when he gave us assignments and it is contagious. He always said: this is not dangerous; you can do this ... it seemed very safe ... I trusted him and what he taught me (Participant ID 14) | •The therapist’s experience •Safety •Knowledge •Relation •Communication | The importance of mutual understanding | |
I have a son who is mentally ill … we tend to walk almost every day … his biggest problem is that he is isolating himself, and what I can contribute is to get him out for a walk ... what really motivates me is that I want to stay in the best possible shape since I have a son that I feel is dependent on me (Participant ID 2) | •Everyday activities/providing care •Transferability of exercise •The importance of contribution •Effectiveness of intervention | The older persons’ desire to cope with everyday life | Research is interwoven with successful therapy and is an integral component of it |
If someone had said do that and that, and I didn’t realize the point, I wouldn’t have bothered to do it ... waving arms and legs with no intention is just nonsense (Participant ID 2) | •Explanation of the exercises •Power •Motivation •Making sense •Communication | In clinical practice, research makes sense |