115 Patients’ and volunteers’ experiences with a social network intervention 4 "Well I think for him it was a small step towards doing things that most people consider fairly normal. Going to a cafe, having a cup of coffee there. I don't think he would do that by himself. So I think his social world has expanded a little bit, but I wonder when I stop going with him, will he continue to do it on his own? I don't really see him doing that. He is quite closed, although he does talk when we meet. But I don't think he will easily start a conversation with someone.” – coach 023. A few dyads engaged in cultural and recreational activities, such as visiting a museum, going to the cinema, or library. Some patients reported playing sports or games with their coach. A few participants mentioned that they had not engaged in mutual activities. In several cases, plans were made to go out or to increase social participation but did not actually proceed due to various reasons addressed in Theme 1. Some coaches expressed feelings of disappointment, as they would have liked to go out more often and to engage in social activities with their patients to create opportunities for them to interact with other people. However, most patients were satisfied with the type and frequency of activities. Most patients showed no initiative or intention to independently explore more (social) activities. Only one patient expressed disappointment that the coach was unable to meet on weekends. Additionally, one patient expressed frustration as he was matched with a coach who was unable to engage in the specific activities requested by this patient in advance. Theme 4: achieving meaningful change “I think the contact is too limited to really say that it changed him” – coach 023 Participants showed different perspectives on meaningful change, which resulted in three subthemes: (1) lack of change, (2) expansion of worldview and beliefs, and (3) sense of fulfillment and purpose. The first subtheme reflects the lack of change in patients’ lives reported by patients who were matched (i.e., low and high compliance group) as well as coaches. The last two subthemes relate to positive experiences in coaches. Lack of change A common view amongst participants was that, in general, no meaningful and sustainable changes in their social situations occurred due to FNC. For example, one patient enjoyed interacting with the coach, but argued that no clear goals were accomplished. "Yes it was fun, it was worth staying home for or coming home on time. [...] But if you ask how my life would have looked like retrospectively without the contact with [name coach], well probably the same. “ – patient 018.
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