| To join, or not to join: that is the question |
Structural aspects |
Having a flexible schedule |
I think it won’t be hard to do this exercise. You said once a day for a couple of minutes? It seems doable. I can do it after lunch, or maybe after breakfast. Let’s see. Let’s see. Sometimes we join the gym but it’s not easy to show up every time. Something always comes up and at the end, each day I’m going less and less. Maybe with this exercise at home it will be easier (Ella). |
| Trying something new |
If it is to help, I’ll do it. I’ll challenge myself with it, that’s it. I feel a lot of back pain, but I’ll try it out. I tried many different things throughout the years, different drugs, compression socks, I even went to the physiotherapist a couple of times. To be honest, my life is pretty much the same boredom now. Before I used to do everything, up and down. So, it’s always good to try new things, it helps (Sonata). |
| Changing the routine |
Florian: I already have my things, things I already do during the day. I’m not sure if I like it [the activity]. I don’t need it in my life.
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| Interviewer: How come? It would take just five minutes of your time. You could do it after you wake up, before taking a shower.
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| Florian: I’m not sure, I have my life on a schedule, I like to do my stuff, I already organized my life with other things
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| Having someone to do it with |
I’m afraid, I’m afraid of falling down and breaking my femur again. I need someone to do it with me. I don’t feel well, it’s been a while since I used the walker; my son carries me around. Before he leaves for work, he puts it in the living room. Maybe my son can help me after he gets home from work. If you explain that to him, he’ll do it with me. It’s been a while since I used the walker, I don’t feel safe doing it by myself (Eva). |
| Individual influence |
Having physical limitations |
I’m not sure about this exercise. The thing is my leg. I have a lot of pain, a lot of pain, my dear, on the knee. It hurts when I move, when I get up, when I get down because of this arthrosis, very high arthrosis. I still feel a little pain from the varicose veins. The varicose veins hurt a little. When the weather warms up, they start to heat up, to burn. It’s hard for me. I feel like I just can’t, what if I stagger and fall? (Rose) |
| Stigmatization associated with exercises targeting older people |
But this [Sit-to-stand activity] is for people who don’t walk or anything, it’s for seniors or people who are already very sick. Thank you very much, but I don’t want to take your time. This is not for me. I’m old but that is not for me, that’s enough. I’m 80, but I’m still OK (Summer). |
| Establishing intentions |
I’ll try to do [physical activities] as the doctor of the Family Health Strategy asks me to do so. And the other doctors also say: “you have to walk, walking is good, your muscles will thank you, you’ll see”. So, I think I can start with this exercise that you said (Acacia). |
| Having goals |
Oh, I really want to be able to sit down and get up without pain, without problems. Sometimes when I sit down, get up, sit down, get up, my leg pops. But I already felt it before, it’s been a while [that I feel the pop]. I think it keeps popping, for now ... But like, when I go to the bathroom, to climb the step there in the bathroom, I say: “oh, my knee popped. I heard a crack”. But this is normal. The thing is to do the exercise as you said. Better days will come, right. Sit down, get up, sit down again, get up, right? I have to look forward to something, hold on to something and move on (Juliette). |
| How did it go? |
Drivers |
Cost |
You know, I enjoyed doing it, I did it every time I could and every time I remembered. Sometimes I forget to do it and when I remember it’s already bed time. But the thing of just using the chair was pretty nice. If I go to the gym classes on the beach, I have to pay. If I go there in the health center’s gym, I don’t have to pay but to get there I have to spend money on the rickshaw [transportation means]. But that sitting and standing activity can be done at home, that’s cool. I do it at home (Star). |
| Privacy |
You don’t have to get dressed and leave the house. I even do it wearing my old and ripped clothes. People look at you when you’re there at the gym. It’s easier to exercise because you don’t have to worry about clothes, getting dressed, and all that. When I’m at home, it’s just me (Ella). |
| Perceived benefits in mental and physical health |
Sonata: This week wasn’t easy because sometimes I feel this pain in the morning and at night. During the day, the pain alleviates a little because I also have a lot to do. Oh my God. So, I have to do it according to what I can, I’m doing something.
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| Interviewer: Did you notice any benefit from exercising?
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| Sonata: Oh yes. Because I didn’t get up from the chair easily. I had to hold it here. If I sat on this stool, it was difficult to get up. So, I had to help myself up with both my hands on the chair, and sometimes it would take longer because of the pain. My whole body hurts. Oh, but my daughter was so happy. I surprised her, right? She got home, because I always have to wait for her to help me. Then she came and I said, “stay here close to me, close your eyes”. Then she said: “what happened?” I said, “a very good thing happened”. She said, “was the girl [researcher] here?” I said, “she was”. “What happened?” She asked. I said, “wait”. Then I said, “you can turn around”. Then I got up by myself. “Huh? You didn’t hold there”, she said. And then I came and did it once, twice, sometimes up to three times, I could not stand up. It wasn’t easy, but thank God, I’m getting there.
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| Going at own pace and adapting the activities |
The exercise is easy. I’m going, I’m going. I’m doing. Once in a while, it’s not easy to get up, okay. I can sit down... I go slowly and surely. I really wanted to sit without pain, right? And sometimes, sometimes it hurts more, others it hurts less, right? The exercise is actually good. It’s easy. It’s not unpleasant, no. Every day I do a little. I sit there in that chair. Yesterday I did it. Sit down, get up, sit down, get up. Sometimes I need help from my daughter or my son-in-law to do it, and I also use my hands to get up. But I do it. When I don’t feel like doing it in that chair, I do it here on the sofa. But I do it. The important thing is that I’m trying (Juliette). |
| How did it go? |
Drivers |
Sense of achievement |
Interviewer: Have you noticed any benefit after having done this exercise? What do you notice about yourself? Are you walking a little more?
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| Sky: No, not walking yet. Now I’m going to start walking here. I’m not walking yet. I just stand, but I’m already stretching more. After you got the walker for me I started doing the sit and stand thing. I tried and because I felt safe doing this, I do it every day. I’m already stretching further. I believe I’ll improve more. I couldn’t even stretch like that. One step at a time |
| Having a supportive system in family members |
Interviewer: Carnation, what would encourage you to do more of this activity? Is your son pushing you?
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| Carnation: My son ain’t easy, when he sees me he says: “you have to do this and that’s it”. Sometimes, when he walks by and I’m hanging outside, he says, “you’re going out, at last, huh. Way to go”. I say, “fine, fine”. Then he gets all happy, then I do things when he’s around. But when he ain’t around, I don’t do anything. |
| Interviewer: So he encourages you to exercise more?
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| Carnation: Very much, he wants me to go to the gym. What am I going to do at the gym? No gym. My son supports me. I’m the one not taking it seriously, it’s just that, because that exercise was a cool thing, but practically everything for health is a good thing. I even talked to my daughter, she said, “mom, that’s right, do the exercise. Are you doing it?” Every now and then I don’t do it, and my daughter says, “mom, you have to do it every day, every time”. Not every time, I can’t. But that [the Sit-to-stand activity] was good for me, to cheer me up. My family supports me. |
| Having a supportive system in the healthcare system |
Last week the girls [nurses] were here, they came here to change the dressing on my leg. It went well. I really like them, because they’re very cool. They changed the dressing. They do it very well. They’re adorable. To tell you the truth, I had a big callus, the size of my toe, here. Then I asked the nurse to clean it a little bit. Oh, she took the scissors, cut and cleaned it. I don’t feel anything anymore. But it was a big callus and I couldn’t even put my shoes on or walk straight. It was a miracle, wasn’t it? She cut here and cleaned it. She passed a lot of medication. It’s dry. She cut everything. I don’t know if she cut it with a razor or with scissors. But it hurt a lot before. I put my foot on the floor and it hurt. After they cleaned everything and took off the callus, it stopped hurting, so I was more comfortable to do this sit and stand thing (Juliette). |
| Easily integrated into the daily routine |
Interviewer: Tell me about the activity, how did it go, how did you do it?
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| Carnation: I did it and went for a walk. What I did, I always take a morning walk, so as not to forget to do this stand up and sit down thing, I do it before my walk. I get up feeling so lazy, but I get up. I drink my coffee, I do the thing, then, I go for a walk. It was easy to do it [Sit-to-stand activity] because I do it before my walk, but if I don’t walk I forget to do it.
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| Obstacles |
Presenting a health condition |
I had a hard time last Thursday. I got sick, I was sick like never before. I felt a lot of pain, I had no strength for anything, nothing. I no longer had [strength] but I got even worse. I went to bed and I couldn’t sleep, I was short of breath. I was without strength for anything. I no longer had, now you see, I underwent seven surgeries, and I have scoliosis. I couldn’t do anything last week. The doctor told me that Tandrilax that takes away my pain when it’s too bad for me. So yesterday I didn’t take Tandrilax, nor today, so I’m in more pain, more in the knee, old folks you know, in the spine, on the shoulders. I can’t even think about doing what you asked me with all this, not even think about it (Acacia). |
| No perceived need |
Interviewer: And what motivates you to exercise? Or what would better motivate you to do the Sit-to-stand activity?
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| Florian: I don’t feel pain in the knee, I feel nothing. I don’t feel anything, I have this thing in the knee, I walk with a cane; but I don’t feel pain. The knee is almost normal. I don’t need to do anything else, right? I’m in this phase where I don’t feel pain, I don’t feel anything, the only thing I do is walk in the house, I don’t leave the house, I do almost nothing. No, I don’t need this exercise. I’m... I’m fine, I have nothing. There’s no catch, no, I don’t feel I have to do it.
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| Fatalism |
Juliette: Honestly, at the beginning [of the activity] I didn’t have any hope. I didn’t know if I was going to get there, but ... it has to be. I have to accept everything. I didn’t know if I would be able to do it, because I can’t sit down and stand up because of my knee, right? That was what I thought. |
| Interviewer: How are you now, Mrs. Juliette?
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| Juliette: I’m going. I’m going. That’s life.
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| Fear of worse outcome |
I did very little. For example, now I’m not feeling anything in my knee. But if it [the activity] starts to disturb it, then I start, I already start feeling the knee. I say to myself: then I won’t push myself. My knee doesn’t swell. No, no. It only hurts. Last week, it was on Tuesday, out of nowhere, I don’t know what happened, I had a little strain here. So I prefer not to force or anything because it can get worse, then, how do I do it? I’m in my nineties, I have to be very careful not to make things worse (Lily). |
| Lack of companion |
Ohhh my dear, I already did so much, I ran, I did aerobics, I ran a lot. Me and my old man [late husband] every day, early in the morning we went for a walk. Yeah, both of us went to walk early in the morning. We woke up and didn’t even drink coffee, but once in a while we had some coffee. We walked for an hour. He sometimes sat down at the beach bench and I’d say, “it’s OK”, I had some friends who also walked there. I stayed there for an hour, walked for an hour. It was good, I felt good and it was good for my health. Then after he passed away, my husband, I didn’t walk anymore, I did nothing else. He was such a good, wonderful person. 63 years of happiness. He was my partner in everything, if he were here maybe we’d be doing it together, both of us, that exercise you passed on. He was very good, I miss him (Acacia). |
| How did it go? |
Obstacles |
Lack of motivation |
Ah, I haven’t done the exercise. I forget ... Oh, I don’t know. It’s laziness, it’s everything, everything together. I haven’t even done it. I feel discouraged. Some days I feel like that, right? I’ll do it later. Yeah, but my laziness also gets in the way, laziness. I have to get smarter, be more alert and feel that I have to move, but then when I lie down I don’t get up for anything. It’s the same old thing, my dear, it’s laziness here, I have to throw that laziness away. The whole laziness is with me, it’s my fault, nothing else (Carnation). |
| Competing demands |
But it’s funny that the prescription medication provided by the hospital, Losartan, didn’t arrive, it looks like they are out of it. But then, today I ordered [Losartan out of pocket]. I’ll get it soon. I sent [someone] to buy it in [downtown] Rio. I still have a crazy granddaughter. It’s just that I can’t ... I’m going to worry about her for what? I won’t worry. But I always get annoyed sometimes, right? It’s a lot of stress, sometimes I forget my own life, forget about doing things. When these stressful things happen, I get pissed off. On these days, I forget to do the Sit-to-stand activity. It’s a lot of concern in the head (Butterfly). |
| Routine challenge/Discipline |
I’m fine. I did the exercise only a couple of times, it’s so much to do. I’m by myself. Sometimes I forget. I do it when I remember. I even forget about this exercise, I really forget about it. Some things I do on auto-pilot, I just do them without thinking. But this Sit-to-stand activity I’m having trouble to remember (Flora). |
| Safety concern |
It’s just how I told you, when I get up, the first thing that gets me is that I have a lot of imbalance, you know? So it’s as if I were going to fall, but I don’t, I never fell because of it, but I feel like that, a thump (Daisy). |
| Weather |
I’ve done it. I do the exercise and I walk around, today I didn’t do it because there’s too much sun, very hot. I always do it in the morning. But this week no, it’s very hot, right now, it’s very hot today. When it’s hot, it’s not possible (Carnation). |
