Table 4. Summary of the themes and subthemes from the nurse and therapist focus groups and from stroke participants interviews.

Nurses focus groups	Therapist focus group	Stroke survivor interviews
1) The stroke survivor plays an important role in the success of the program	1) Guiding the stroke survivor on the journey	1) Stroke survivors’ attitude towards self-directed upper limb therapy is positive
Stroke survivor motivation is critical	Recovery begins with rehabilitation	Stroke survivors want to do self-directed therapy because they want to get better
Many factors will negatively impact on adherence	Self-directed therapy to increase intensity and influence neuroplasticity	Time in the ward is “wasted time”
Nurses perception of stroke survivors’ attitude towards self-directed therapy outside therapy		Stroke survivors have reservations but are willing to participate in SURE program
Nurses can be a facilitator or a barrier
2) How to make the program work well	2) The stroke survivor needs to take charge
Delivery of intervention	Empower stroke survivors to take charge of their rehabilitation journey
No added chores	Create a culture to enable stroke survivor ownership
Everyone in the team has a role to play
Bring the family members in
Finding the correct timing
	3) Putting it into practice
	Stroke survivor factors
	Delivery of intervention
	Design of the program