Table 6.

Qualitative themes and supporting quotes

Theme 1: Participants gained new knowledge and enjoyable experiences.
Quote 1	I think learning the core exercises and proper use of weights and stuff will be a long-term benefit for me. • Town 8 Participant
Quote 2	… but if you stroll around every couple of hours for 3 min [it] is not a bad thing so. you know. that was something that I was aware of, that I had the freedom to…add physical activity, so the class kind of reminded me of that, which was great. • Town 5 Participant
Quote 3	I think one of the things that was probably the most fun for me is that…the things that people talked about, the different foods that they were eating that they’d NEVER tried and- KALE, I love kale. Most people have never had kale. • Town 6 Participant
Quote 4	I do notice that certain things I eat now, it does make me stay fuller longer and it’s healthier for me. Things I didn’t know, I mean, I never would have tried black bean anything… • Town 3 Participant
Quote 5	I think that getting them involved to do it [make the recipes] was very important because a lot of them have never had or made…those food choices … you know, everybody loves food. Towns 5, 6, and 7 Leader
Quote 6	I definitely would have done two snacks, because I think that made me pick new things at the grocery store. Quinoa. I didn’t even know what that was until we brought it in. So, I think if we did it more often maybe. • Town 11 Participant
Quote 7	It’s funny, because this turned out to be a community engagement project, but I think of it more as for myself. • Town 11 Participant
Theme 2: Participants perceived improvements in physical activity, nutrition, and/or health
Quote 8	Interviewee 1:You could even help with your porch. Interviewee 2:Yes. We actually ripped down a porch and are rebuilding. I kind of was like, “Ha-ha, look at me,” and my husband was like, “Yeah. Okay.” • Town 9 Participants
Quote 9	I was very satisfied. I knocked off a few pounds and then…my clothes felt more comfortable. • Town 8 Participant
Quote 10	We did not have a great deal of success with weight loss but we had a phenomenal success…I think all of us can say this…with mobility, with balance, muscle. • Town 6 Participant
Quote 11	We had one, like, shining-star success story who said that the program saved her life. • Towns 8 & 9 Leader
Theme 3: Participants continued to face some barriers to physical activity and healthy eating, however those relating to social support were reduced.
Quote 12		As much as we wanted a lifestyle change or [to] maybe lose weight or something, I think we were more looking for the camaraderie…the commonality of…aging early. • Town 3 Participant
Quote 13		If [participant name] stops going, I won’t go there by myself. • Town 7 Participant
Quote 14		My [Town 10] group and my [Tonw 11] group both really enjoyed the opportunity to get together and exercise with supportive women • Town 10 and 11 Leader
Quote 15		If somebody said, “Can you take even an hour and fifteen minutes [for the session],” I might have re-thunk it, you know, because I would have been like, “Ooh, an hour, and fifteen minutes?” But… after a month or two, I would have been like, “Hell, yeah. I’d stay for an hour and fifteen minutes.” • Town 11 Participant
Quote 16		“Oh, we have an older persons’ yoga class” and I’m thinking, that’s not what I need … but I need cardio where I’m moving, I can’t get down on the ground and put my right leg around my head and those things, but I can do [SHHC-2.0]. • Town 3 Participant
Quote 17		“Everybody is going to be there. I should go,” you know? Because, like, I enjoyed the camaraderie of the group and just felt a little accountable to go see everyone and do our routine. • Town 11 Participant
Quote 18		I don’t feel disconnected, but I feel like we never [have]… even gone around the table and said where we are coming from. That was my suggestion for tonight. Go around the table and say your name, where you are from, and what you do for a living or what your interests are. We never really did that. • Town 1 Participant
Quote 19		We talked about exercise and diet and [things] like that, and I learned a lot from everybody, and that was really helpful. It helps to have a good group that you can sit there and talk like this and feel comfortable. • Town 2 Participant
Theme 4: Participants rated leaders and the group structure highly, with mixed opinions on the research elements.
Quote 20		And she always sent back very positive messages, like if I couldn’t make a meeting, it would always be, “Well, stay strong!” You know…and “Hope you’re doing well, stay strong,” …whatever you would do…”Remember to exercise,” “Remember to eat well.” • Town 4 Participant
Quote 21		The best thing about this course were your instructors and they were not given enough time to share their wealth of information. • Town 1 Participant
Quote 22		I’m just gonna say this really, really quickly, but those dietary recalls, if you want them accurate, they need to be less cumbersome. The fact that it takes me five minutes to tell you about the supplements that I have every day, the same weight, the same amount, the same thing, the fact that every time I have water, I have to tell you it’s tap water in five steps. • Town 5 Participant
Quote 23		I think the questionnaire, because to me…the questionnaire that took hours to complete, it really didn’t have anything to do [with SHHC-2.0]. • Town 6 Participant
Quote 24		The program can be kind of overwhelming, just all of the data collection that’s constantly happening. • Town 8 & 9 Leader
Quote 25		The problems for me were that there were times for me that my computer was down at home or something, and I couldn’t get to the website to do it when I wanted to, and I was thinking…for a lot of people in rural environments like was already mentioned, you know, internet doesn’t always work the best. • Town 5 Participant