Table 4.
Categories of social relationship factors derived from the thematic analysis.
| Core category | Category | Subcategory | Patients' narratives |
|---|---|---|---|
| Influence of rehabilitation professionals | Relationships with therapists | Feedback from therapists | “In my opinion, whether or not there is a certain improvement for me is very vague. When the therapists give me positive feedback from their professional viewpoints, it makes me realize that I have improved somehow” (aged ≥ 65 years, Female 4). |
| Reliance on therapists | “I trust therapists and medical staffs with my rehabilitation. These good relationships could increase my motivation” (aged ≥ 65 years, Male 7). | ||
| Therapists' attitude toward patients | “My motivation for rehabilitation decreased when my therapists repeatedly pointed out my mistakes, which made me feel that I could not do anything” (aged < 65 years, Male 6). “When I wanted to engage in self-exercise for my weak points, the therapist kindly devised a regimen for me. Since then, I trusted the therapist more, and my motivation for rehabilitation has increased significantly” (aged ≥ 65 years, Male 3). | ||
| Not influenced by phrases of praise† | “Sometimes, I would doubt the therapists' positive feedbacks. I was pleased to hear some of those praises; but I could not detect any truth in them” (aged < 65 years, Male 1). | ||
| To do training for the sake of therapists‡ | “My therapist has made such a great effort for me. I wanted therapists to feel that I was worth teaching. I think I need to rehearse what I have learned and engage in self-training” (aged ≥ 65 years, Male 2). | ||
| Relationship with nurses | Feedback from nurses | “I think it is very important for me to receive positive comments from nurses such as ‘you have been improving and I know you are working hard on your rehabilitation’” (aged < 65 years, Female 10). | |
| Reliance on nurses | “I was very pleased when some nurses mentioned my improvement. That made me feel like they recognized my efforts” (aged < 65 years, female 10). “Some nurses are restless and that makes me hate them sometimes. I feel I am losing my motivation for rehabilitation when I am with them” (aged ≥ 65 years, Male 6). | ||
| Relationship with medical doctors | “When a medical doctor in the acute hospital said that some impairments might remain after discharge, I was disappointed. But when another doctor in the same hospital said that they will make me improve within 2 months, that made me so motivated” (aged ≥ 65 years, Female 9). | ||
| Exercise methods | Varied contents | “Exercises provided by my therapist are very good, of course, while other therapists would make me aware that other ideas for rehabilitation are also good” (aged < 65 years, Male 8). | |
| Shared goal setting and understanding of the purpose of the exercise | “I realized that becoming aware of the aim of the exercise is very important for increasing my motivation” (aged < 65 years, Male 9). “If goals are shared with therapists, motivation can be maintained even during hard training.” (aged ≥ 65 years, Male 8). | ||
| Appropriateness of the exercise contents | “I feel frustrated if I am given the next level of exercise when I am yet to perfect the current level. I would be more motivated when the therapist clarifies my rehabilitation goals step-by-step and changes the exercise method accordingly” (aged < 65 years, Female 2). “In daily rehabilitation, therapists provide feedback on my weak points, which I also recognize, and teach me specific exercise methods to improve, which makes me motivated continuously” (aged ≥ 65 years, Male 5). | ||
| Relationship between patients | Observation of other patients | Observation of other patients' efforts | “Just by watching others making a big effort motivates me. The important thing is that he is making his best effort by his own way, which has nothing to do with the severity of the disability” (aged ≥ 65 years, Male 3). |
| Observation of aged patients' efforts† | “When I see the effort of the aged patient, I feel that I should be making more effort on my own rehabilitation” (aged < 65 years, Male 9). | ||
| Comparison with other patients' impairments and disabilities‡ | “Sometimes I compare my abilities or differences to other patients. If other patients can do some movement, I want to be able to do those” (aged ≥ 65 years, Female 10). | ||
| No influences from other patients | “All I can do is do my best. Other patients have no relationship to me” (aged ≥ 65 years, Female 9). | ||
| Communication with other patients | Interaction with other patients | “An interaction with other patients is very important for me. It makes me feel like having a mutual encouragement” (aged < 65 years, Female 2). | |
| Conflicts with patients‡ | “My motivation decreases when I have trouble in relationships with other patients” (aged ≥ 65 years, Female 4). | ||
| Patients' supporters | Existence of supporters | Family | “My family work so hard for me, so I must not complain about anything. I want to give back to them” (aged ≥ 65 years, Female 1). |
| Coworkers† | “Some of my coworkers say they will wait for me to return to work. This is such a great motivation” (aged < 65 years, Male 9). | ||
| Friends‡ | “When my friends visit me, I really appreciate that. If no one comes, I will be depressed” (aged ≥ 65 years, Female 10). | ||
| Relationship with supporters | Conversation with family | “My family member said to me that they were happy to see my abilities recovered, which makes me happy” (aged ≥ 65 years, Female 9). | |
| Encouragement† | “Keeping a high motivation is very tough. An encouragement from my friend helps me to maintain high motivation” (aged < 65 years, Female 10). | ||
| Family visit‡ | “When my family visits me, I get the feeling that I want to be discharged from here as soon as I improve significantly enough” (aged ≥ 65 years, Male 2). |
†
Only for participants aged < 65 years;
‡
Only for participants aged ≥ 65 years.