Table 4.

Trajectory types and their characteristics (N=26).

Trajectory type	Explanation	Work goals	Participant IDs	Number of comorbidities, mean (SD)
Living with stable chronic conditions	Trajectory onset→stable (participants were diagnosed at a mild stage of the disease where conditions were stable and did not experience disease exacerbations).	Making patient work as routinized and invisible as possible.	7, 9, 10, 14, 15, 19, 20, 22, 23, 25, and 26	3.2 (1.7)
Dealing with cycles of acute or crisis episodes	Trajectory onset→stable→unstable→acute→crisis→comeback→stable (participants have experienced episodes of disease exacerbation, sometimes repeatedly).	Heavily multimorbid, experiencing polypharmacy, and requiring support with self-management adherence.	2, 3, 4, 8, 11, 12, 13, 17, 18, and 21	3.4 (1.7)
Responding to unstable changes in their conditions	Trajectory onset→stable→unstable (participants were diagnosed at a mild stage but are currently experiencing a decline in health).	Experiencing increasing intensity and variety of patient work and dealing with rapid changes.	6, 16, and 24	8.7 (9.7)
Coming back from crisis before stabilizing	Crisis→comeback→stable (participants were diagnosed due to a sudden and severe exacerbation and recovered from that crisis).	Cope with a total loss of normal life and needing holistic support.	1 and 5	1.5 (0.7)