Tailored personas for self-management in home-based rehabilitation for participants with lower limb lymphedema: A qualitative study

Background: Lower limb lymphedema is a chronic condition characterized by lymphatic dysfunction and affects a large, increasingly prevalent patient population. While incurable, the condition can be effectively controlled through evidence-based self-management. Current researchers often emphasize universal management principles, overlooking individual variability and multifaceted patient needs, which constrain the efficacy of intervention measures. Objective: We aimed to develop personas-fictional characters representing distinct patient subgroups-for self-management among participants with lower limb lymphedema during home-based rehabilitation. Methods: Purposive sampling coupled with maximum variation sampling was employed to recruit 24 participants with lower limb lymphedema from a vascular surgery center in China. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and the data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The validity and representativeness of the role dimensions were confirmed through expert review and participant feedback, leading to the construction of distinct participant personas. Results: We identified five distinct personas tailored to participants with lower limb lymphedema. The personas were: proactive and optimistic self-managers; participants with moderate health literacy and fluctuating self-management behaviors; participants with low motivation and emotional disengagement; participants with limited knowledge and constrained self-management behaviors; and participants with high cooperation but excessive health anxiety. Conclusion: We found substantial heterogeneity in participants' behavioral patterns, which through the developed typology reveals their diverse support needs and provides a framework for developing tailored strategies in future research.