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| Themes | Subthemes | Quotes |
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| (A) Physical health | (A1) The experience of the disease course and aging weakens the individual’s health | (1) “I had a better stamina for running before getting diabetes. After developing diabetes, I had to change and do other exercises, such as walking or mountain climbing.” (Mr. B) |
| (2) “My hand has been numb, and this makes it impossible for me to work. I used to have a lot of work to do, but now I cannot work anymore.” (Mr. C) |
| (3) “I get my long-term medication from the hospital. Every month, I have to get a lot of medicines. After some time, when I feel better, I do not have particular restrictions on my diet, and my cholesterol levels get elevated again. The doctor then prescribes some medicine, and after taking it, my cholesterol level drops again.” (Group G) |
| (4) “I think I’ve tried very hard to control my blood sugar, but it hasn’t been very effective. It is still troublesome to make monthly return visits.” (Mr. B) |
| (A2) Acceptance of the disease and self-care practice can help recover physical capabilities | (1) “I would regularly use outpatient services and get my medication. When I go back to the hospital, as long as the doctor tells me that the results are good, I am satisfied with my current health status, and I just need to track it.” (Mr. C) |
| (2) “I follow the physician’s instructions and control my diet, but sometimes I need my wife’s assistance. She helps me adjust my diet and monitor my blood glucose.” (Mr. E) |
| (3) “I know it is healthy and helpful to eat more vegetables and less meat, and I take walks with my wife from time to time. I feel a lot better after doing so.” (Mr. C) |
| (4) “Take my wife and me for example; both of us can’t walk stably, and we also have poor eyesight, so we fell onto the road several times. Now our children worry that we may fall again, so they bought us crutches to help us walk more stably.” (Mr. E) |
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| (B) Psychological health | (B1) Negative life experiences hinder the individual’s potential for health | (1) “If I stay at home and don’t want to spend money to enjoy my life, this attitude could have an adverse effect. My sister-in-law suffers from severe dementia and cannot recognize us at all. I didn’t know that it could be so serious.” (Mrs. A) |
| (2) “I can feel that my physical strength is much worse than before, and I cannot work long hours anymore.” (Group I) |
| (B2) Acceptance of aging and accommodations can positively influence life | (1) “My way of adapting is to recognize that I am entering into my later years, and I have to learn to plan my life. I hope that after the knee surgery, I can have the chance to do what I want instead of staying at home spending all my time sleeping like I do now.” (Group I) |
| (2) “I had a pretty good recovery after the stroke. I feel very lucky that I can still walk. Now, I need to do certain things every day not to get bored.” (Mrs. F) |
| (3) “I think having changes in one’s mentality is very important. When we realize that we are no longer the young men we used to be, we make adjustments to our lives and our paces of life to adapt to life in later years.” (Group H) |
| (4) “I must have owed people a lot in my previous life because these things are happening to me in this life.” (Mrs. A) |
| (5) “Whenever I have problems, whether physical or mental problems, I always seek help from the Earth God. Miraculously enough, I can always get through the difficulties.” (Mrs. F) |
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| (C) Social and family relationships | (C1) Social interactions can mitigate negative and promote positive health | (1) “I occasionally play Mahjong and go mountain climbing with my friends. We can play and walk while chatting and sharing our lives. It really makes me happy.” (Mr. E) |
| (2) “I often practice Qigong with my older friends, and we often take leisurely trips together. We all feel very happy enjoying our time together.” (Mrs. A) |
| (3) “Some of my old friends are gone now. I have many new friends, but fewer old ones. Anyway, I can still go visit other relatives from time to time.” (Mr. C) |
| (4) “All of us older persons gather together to buy things and cook for the older people in the community. We feel very interested and happy.” (Group G) |
| (5) “I get up at four o’clock every morning and start cleaning the roads in the community. I sweat a lot, but I don’t feel tired at all. On the contrary, I feel extremely happy doing this.” (Mrs. F) |
| (C2) Reconstruction of family relationships affirms well-being | (1) “We always worry about our children. We worry about their marriage, whether they can have children or not and everything. However, now we have to keep reminding ourselves that we should let go of all these worries about our children. Our lives can be a lot happier by doing so.” (Group H) |
| (2) “I live with my wife, and our communication style is to joke with each other instead of just being close together. This communication style is our cheerful enjoyment of life.” (Mr. B) |
| (3) “When my husband and I retired, what mattered most was not our intimate relationship but our common interests and leisure life.” (Mrs. A) |
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| (D) Living Environmental | (D1) Living environment modifications compensate for age-related changes | (1) “Our families worry about our security at home. If we fall, we may need to spend more money. So, they pay extra attention to the environment to prevent us from falling, and they do not want us to climb stairs.” (Group I) |
| (2) “Since I became sick, my children have accounted for the inconvenience and moved my room from the second floor to the first floor.” (Mrs. F) |
| (3) “I used to slip in the bathroom and had injured my hand, so I now pay special attention to the safety of the home and walking environment.” (Group G) |
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