Table 1.
Participant characteristics
| Participant pseudonym | Age group (years) |
Gender | Primary reason for referral | Source of referral | Self-reported PA history | Employment status | Participation status* | Overarching theme |
| Alice | 70+ | Female | CVD secondary prevention | Cardiac rehabilitation | Previously very active, enjoyed PA | Retired | Adherer | Success |
| Amy | 20–29 | Female | Overweight/obesity | Primary care | Previously active, enjoyed PA | Home-maker | Adherer | |
| Julie | 50–59 | Female | Overweight/obesity | Primary care | Previously very active, enjoyed PA | Employed | Adherer | |
| Patricia | 60–69 | Female | Overweight/obesity | Primary care | Previously active, enjoyed PA | Retired | Adherer | |
| Brian | 60–69 | Male | CVD secondary prevention | Cardiac rehabilitation | Previously active, enjoyed PA | Retired | Adherer | Struggle |
| Margaret | 60–69 | Female | Mental health | Primary care | Intermittently active, enjoyed PA but hated sport | Retired | Dropout | |
| Peter | 50–59 | Male | CVD secondary prevention | Cardiac rehabilitation | Previously active, enjoyed PA | Unemployed | Adherer | |
| Paul | 50–59 | Male | Overweight/obesity | Primary care | Previously active, enjoyed PA | Receiving disability benefit | Medically excluded | Defeat |
| Jackie | 40–49 | Female | Overweight/obesity | Primary care | Previously inactive, disliked PA | Carer | Non-attender | |
| Dorothy | 60–69 | Female | Musculoskeletal | Primary care | Previously inactive, disliked PA | Retired | Dropout | |
| Dan | 50–59 | Male | Mental health | Primary care | Previously active, enjoyed PA | Employed | Dropout (health reason) |
*Medically excluded: attended initial consultation but was excluded from scheme participation due to medical reasons (physiological measures above scheme acceptance guidelines for example, blood pressure ≥180/100 mm Hg or resting heart rate ≥100 beats per minute).
Adherer: attended initial consultation and informed researcher that they were still attending exercise sessions.
Dropout: attended initial consultation and some exercise sessions but informed researcher that they had stopped attending.
Non-attender: attended initial consultation, but no exercise sessions.
CVD, cardiovascular disease; PA, physical activity.