Theme 7: A sense of control, intrinsic value, noticing progress and improving health outcomes
Participants identified thinking that participating in prehabilitation helped them to feel like they were impacting their own care in a way that would benefit them in the longer term. These beliefs appeared to facilitate participation through influence on participant’s beliefs about consequences of their exercising (e.g., ‘Well I really want to do well in the surgery, as well as I can. So, it gave me something to do, like something concrete I could do to try and make it better… because in some ways there’s not too much I can do but that was one thing I could do… to be as strong for the surgery as I could be.’) and their role in impacting their health outcomes (e.g., ‘Well I think I felt good because I felt I was doing something to help myself through the surgery. I felt good about that.’). Participating in exercise was also identified as motivating participants toward their goal of achieving a positive surgical outcome (e.g., ‘I thought it was probably very positive to do and hopefully I see benefits down the road sometime’, and ‘I think just the fact that I’m anxious to have the surgery and get it over with, and I’m hoping that these exercises are going to make [surgery] easier for me’.)Successful completion of exercises and a sense of improvement in performance over time also appeared to facilitate participation (e.g., ‘As you progress during the weeks and that, right now I feel great and I love doing them. And they get easier as you go along.’, and ‘I feel a bit better because I had not been exercising, so I can tell my breathing is better. I feel stronger. So I feel more physically ready than I did five weeks ago or six weeks ago.’).