Subtheme	Study	Direct participant data	Author description of data
Health beliefs and managing OA and exercise	Campbell 2001	"[the exercise and taping]might not help me because I'm getting old but it might help somebody else…I just think I'm too old really to improve." p.136.	Ideas about the cause of arthritis also played a part. Those who thought that arthritis was caused by immutable factors such as age, obesity and "wear and tear," tended to have a resigned attitude towards their arthritis. As a consequence, they found it hard to believe that the intervention could be effective and this weakened the resolve to comply. In contrast, those most likely to be continued compliers tended to believe that although there was no cure for arthritis, there were things they could do to minimise its impact, including the physiotherapy. p.136.
	Hendry 2006	"If it's wear and tear on the bone, is it helping to do all this exercising, walking and that?" p.561. "So your movement is important; this is why I want to get back into a regular exercise routine, so I can do more to help myself." p.562. "You should do moderate exercise; overdoing it could make things worse." p.562. You can't do too much exercise; take painkillers, if you need to, and keep going.	Many participants were worried that exercise was wearing out their joints. They reasoned that if OA is caused by wear and tear, then exercise would exacerbate the disease process. p.561. Some participants were determined to take control of their disability and used exercise as a means of actively maintaining or improving their mobility. In some cases, this determination was such that they continued to exercise in spite of a belief that OA was caused by 'wear and tear.' p.562. 1 participant felt that it was impossible to do too much exercise, but people felt that excessive exercise would make the knee problem worse. However, other people had become resigned to their physical limitations. p.563.
	Hinman 2016	"I know now it's going to be for my benefit. I keep on doing these exercises…if I stop, pain comes on again, and I can't do any activities." p.485.	No direct description.
	Hurley 2010	(Before intervention): "…I get the pain and there is nothing that can be done about it…" p.5. "…I'm questioning whether exercise might exacerbate or ease it. I really don't know." p.5. "…I got a little bit frightened of doing exercise because I don't know what exercises will be detrimental to the knee or advantageous to it." p.5. (After intervention): "…I thought if I exercise I am going to make the pain worse…they have showed me that I can still exercise even though I have a bad knee…" p.7. "…I feel that I am not thinking about my knee pain anymore as a pain, I think about it more as preventing it by doing the exercises." p.7. "…[arthritis]can ease…but there is no cure for it, so it's learning to live with it…" p.7. "…I'll go on as much as I can doing the exercises…" p.7. "…I thought it was good, very good. To my mind I was helping to do something to help my knee pain…" "…This [exercise] is much better because like I said I found is helpful, because I don't take any medicine…" "…If you don't exercise you're never going to be able to manage the pain…Gentle exercise actually relieves the pain, and it means that you should be able to cut down [analgesia] and that the answer is not necessarily knee replacement…" p.7. "…I mean exercise might stop it from getting worse any sooner that it would have done…before it deteriorates to the point where an operation might be needed…" p.7.	As a result of this confusion, and in the absence of any advice about what they should (not) be doing, few people were exercising and most were refraining from or avoiding activities. p.5. Participation in the exercise regimen allayed people's fears, confusion and anxiety about the safety of exercise and showed them it was beneficial. Its successful completion convinced participants that exercise was an effective self‐management strategy they were capable of implementing and a viable alternative to medication that might slow deterioration and delay or avoid surgery. p.8.
	Petursdottir 2010	"There is nothing that can be done about the OA; therefore, I do nothing." p.1021.	Only 1 woman did not exercise. She worked part‐time and believed that was quite enough activity. p.1021.
	Thorstensson 2006	"Well, I am worried, I sometimes think that if it hurts when I do something it will cause even more damage." p.56. "…I now know that it is beneficial. I know that simply going for a walk every day is very good for me. In that way I have changed. Previously I was not even aware that it was necessary." p.53. "It can't have improved just like that. It [exercise] must have helped. So that's why I've found it beneficial in all sorts of ways, and it has changed my attitude to this kind of exercise. It must have done it." p.53. "Well, it is different now because, as I've already said, previously you exercised to maintain your level of fitness whereas now you exercise in order to regain your physical condition." p.55.	To hesitate. This conception contained doubts about the benefits of exercise. Experiencing pain while exercising made it difficult to decide whether it was beneficial or counterproductive. p.53. To experience coherence. This conception contained statements about connecting knowledge about OA with knowledge and experiences of exercise. The informants expressed satisfaction and were convinced of the effectiveness of exercise. p.56.