Table 3.

Themes applied to the role management task described by Corbin and Strauss (1988)

Theme	Minor themes	Exemplar quotes from kidney transplant recipients
Building relationships with healthcare professionals	Continuity of care	“You’ve got the consistency with the doctors that you see, and they always explain everything very well … I think probably because it’s been with me for so long, and if I’ve got a problem, I know I can always come here.” (Female, age 59, PAM Level 2) “Continuity is important … being known by the team, there is the personal aspect, they know you. I also know them.” (Male, age 64, PAM Level 3)
	Collaborative care	“When I see [Doctor] on a roughly three, four monthly basis, I bring that up during the discussions … we cut that out and try and find something alternative etcetera.” (Male, age 64, PAM Level 3) “They wanted to give me more medication … I just said look, can you give me some time … to see whether I can bring it [blood pressure] down myself through meditation or anything like that, and yeah, they were fine with it.” (Male, age 33, PAM not reported)
	Ease of access	“If I was abroad, I can e-mail [Doctor]’s secretary and say I’ve got this or that … they’re at the end of the phone if something is not quite right.” (Male, age 68, PAM Level 4)
	Empowerment	“[A] lot of them have said this to me, you’ve got your whole life ahead of you, so just be on top of it.” (Male, age 33, PAM not reported) “They’ve always said, ‘you are the person that knows more about your health than anyone else because you're living with it’.” (Female, age 33, PAM Level 4)
Creating routines within daily life	Creating habits	“[Taking medication] becomes a habit. First thing in the morning, last thing at night.” (Male, age 77, PAM Level 2) “I’ve got an alarm for my tablets … put diary dates in when I need to order my tablets as well…” (Male, age 68, PAM Level 4) “… a two and a half mile walk on an either early evening or whenever, even at night … that forms a part of our lifestyle.” (Male, age 64, PAM Level 3)
	Preparing for disruptions	“[If] I'm going out or going out for a meal, I’ll put a reminder on my phone [to take medications].” (Male, age 38, PAM Level 3) “The only times it gets a bit [difficult] is if you go out of your routine … I might take them [medications] a little bit early before I go, or other times I might just take them with me.” (Female, age 59, PAM Level 2)
Setting goals and identifying motivators	Goals	“[Weight loss] restricts my life quite a lot … It’s not like a never-ending thing. I’ve got a goal” (Male, age 59, PAM Level 3) “Because of the nature of my work as well, you had to be physically fit” (Male, age 38, PAM Level 3)
	Motivators	“I'm thinking about [daughter], she makes me stronger… why worry about me.” (Male, age 61, PAM not reported) “I’m glad that I’ve got a job, because it gives me something to do … at the weekend it’s a devil of a job to do anything, because I’ve not got that objective to get to.” (Male, age 77, PAM Level 2) “The transplant has been a very precious gift … I want to try and do everything I can to try and maintain it” (Male, age 59, PAM Level 3)