Table 4.

Facilitators to Weight Management in Individuals with Spinal Cord Injury and Related Quotations

Weight Management Facilitators
Individual-Level Subthemes	Provider Quotations
Motivation	“Motivation can also be a really big facilitator because if someone is wanting to be more independent and they like, ‘I know that this transfer is going to be a lot easier if this happens. It’s going to be easier for me to do my bowel program by myself’.” [HP08, Occupational therapist] “The motivation to do it too. So there’s that mental health aspect too that I think you have to throw that in too. … good self-esteem and motivation to keep going [working out].” [HP18, Nurse practitioner]
Education and Knowledge Pre/Post-Injury about Weight Management	“Making sure that they’re aware of proper diet and nutrition. A lot of the spinal cord injury patients are young, so it takes teaching…. Knowing how lack of mobility affects them, but how there are things they can do to help with that as well. Knowledge, knowing what’s available and what can help and what to do. So knowledge that there are things they can do.” [HP06, Nurse] “Education first and foremost so that they understand. Education in addition to how they can manage it. So whether that’s diet, whether that’s different kinds of exercise, cardiovascular, whatever they’re capable of, just so that people are aware.” [HP04, Occupational/physical therapist]
Exercise and Physical Activity	“Exercise. staying active, participating in like the wheelchair games and things like that. Anything that keeps activity up is certainly helpful.” [HP23, Physician] “An exercise program that’s more modern and trendy, so yoga is huge and CrossFit is huge, so if individuals with SCI can be involved in like adaptive CrossFit or if they’re able to do chair yoga, then I think that’s a trendy, well-known, and talked about a lot type of fitness and exercise. I always think that those ones are really successful for people because they’re pretty popular.” [HP13, Recreation therapist]
Socio-Environmental Subthemes	Provider Quotations
Positive Support Network	“If they [caregiver] can go to the workout classes with their spouse or with the person that they’re providing care for, or go to the yoga classes with them or the nutrition classes or whatever they might be doing to help their weight loss, that’s so huge to have that support and have somebody there who is hearing the same information and can help them remember and help keep them on track.” [HP13, Recreation therapist] “There are some like independent lifestyles, some community organizations that help folks with either physical or psychological disabilities to be more engaged in the community.” [HP15, Social worker] “Support…the community. You need that village… to help support their goals, not only to obtain them but then to also maintain them.” [HP18, Nurse practitioner] “Providers being comfortable talking about it. Having more individuals who are comfortable and trained in working with SCI population to provide that one-on-one care would be great.” [HP22, Physician]
Access to and Use of Healthy Dietary Strategies	“Any kind of support or programs that don’t involve leaving the house or that have, I think some of those like meal delivery services now probably could be pretty promising for anybody with a disability, not just spinal cord injury.” [HP03, Physical therapist] “Trying to follow a reasonable diet.” [HP23, Physician]
Access to Exercise Facilities and Adaptive Equipment	“Access to physical fitness facilities.” [HP03, Physical therapist] “Whole gym is set up for adaptive training, adaptive fitness.” [HP13, Recreation therapist] “Not only the accessibility to the gym and the workout plan that will work for you and your specific abilities and disabilities.” [HP18, Nurse practitioner]
Participating in Weight Management with Others	“Group fitness classes and gyms and that social aspect of it and the encouragement from other people…With a community of other people and you’re with supportive peers, a supportive community of like-minded and similar disabilities of people.” [HP13, Recreation therapist]