Supplementary materials for "Role perceptions of community sports instructors in ethnic minority rural China: a qualitative study of cultural adaptation in health promotion"

This record contains supplementary materials supporting the manuscript entitled “Role perceptions of community sports instructors in ethnic minority rural China: a qualitative study of cultural adaptation in health promotion.” The materials include the semi-structured interview guide, anonymised coding framework, anonymised excerpts used in the findings, and summary information underlying the tables and figures. Full interview transcripts and audio recordings are not included because they contain potentially identifiable information and culturally specific contextual details about participants and local communities.

Supplementary Materials

For the manuscript: Role perceptions of community sports instructors in ethnic minority rural China: a qualitative study of cultural adaptation in health promotion

Prepared for data availability and research transparency purposes

Anonymization note: This supplementary file contains non-identifiable research materials only. Full interview transcripts, audio recordings, and MAXQDA project files are not included because they may contain potentially identifiable information and culturally specific contextual details about participants and local communities.

Contents

Supplementary File 1. Semi-structured interview guide

Supplementary File 2. Coding framework / codebook

Supplementary File 3. Anonymised excerpts used in the findings

Supplementary File 4. Summary information underlying tables and figures

Data sharing restriction note

Suggested Data Availability Statement for the manuscript

Supplementary File 1. Semi-structured interview guide

The interview guide was structured around the R-TECS framework. It was used flexibly in semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions, allowing interviewers to ask follow-up questions according to participants’ experiences and local contexts.

R-TECS dimension

Community sports instructors

Cultural cadres / local administrators

Residents

RR: Role Recognition

How do you perceive your role in providing sports instruction in the village?Do you see yourself as representing government requirements or responding more to local village needs?

How do you view the role of sports instructors in the village? Are they seen as official agents?How do you understand your role in managing local public cultural services?

Who organizes most public sports or cultural activities in the village?Do you think these organizers are sent by the government or are local community members?

TE: Task Execution

What kinds of activities do you typically organize? How are these activities selected?Have you encountered villagers refusing to participate?

What cultural or sports events are commonly organized in the village? Who decides them?Is there any performance evaluation for these roles?

What public cultural or exercise activities are common in the village? Do you participate?Do you feel these activities match your interests or local traditions?

CE: Challenges and Engagement

Are there standard templates or performance targets from higher authorities?Do these activities reflect local culture, or do villagers feel these are “their own” activities?

Are there standardized orders from higher-level authorities?What conflicts arise in implementation?

Do you think current activities resemble the ones from your childhood?Do they feel foreign or culturally inappropriate for your village?

SPS: Support and Suggestions

What parts of your work would you like to see more flexible or locally adapted?Have you ever tried giving feedback to higher authorities? Was it acknowledged?

What improvements would you suggest for future public cultural services?Are your opinions supported at the policy level?

What kinds of activities would you prefer?What cultural or exercise events would make you more willing to join?

Supplementary File 2. Coding framework / codebook

The following codebook summarises the three-level coding structure used for the qualitative analysis. It is provided to support transparency and replicability without disclosing full transcripts.

Selective coding

Axial coding

Open codes

Job satisfaction and influencing factors

Objective factors

Policy support; time allocation; financial funds; equipment and facilities

Job satisfaction and influencing factors

Subjective factors

Negative self-evaluation; positive self-evaluation; positive external evaluation; negative external evaluation

Job satisfaction and influencing factors

Job satisfaction

Community dimension satisfaction; self-dimension satisfaction; work environment satisfaction

Personal experience and responsibility perception

Primary responsibility

Promotion of activities; design of activities; coordination of resources

Personal experience and responsibility perception

Duty perception

Improve personal skills; promote community contact; ensure event safety; keep residents interested; promote health awareness

Personal experience and responsibility perception

Instructor characteristics

Working years; qualification level; age; gender

Role cognition and efficiency of public sports service

Challenges of public sports services

Community participation; policy restriction; cultural difference

Role cognition and efficiency of public sports service

Role cognition

Cultural communicator; coach; organizer; psychological supporter

Supplementary File 3. Anonymised excerpts used in the findings

The following excerpts are anonymised and represent quotations used to support the thematic findings. Identifying information has been removed or generalized. The excerpts are illustrative rather than a full transcript dataset.

Analytic category

Anonymised excerpt

Interpretive use in the article

Cultural communicator

“The most important thing is to create an atmosphere of unity and cooperation and to enhance residents’ sense of belonging through sports activities.”

Shows how instructors link sports activities to collective belonging and cultural cohesion.

Coach

“I need to take into account the preferences and physical conditions of different age groups.”

Shows that technical instruction is adapted to age, ability, and local participation conditions.

Organizer

“During the Spring Festival, I found that young people liked basketball, so I organized a small basketball game.”

Shows how instructors mobilize participation by aligning sports activities with local festive rhythms.

Psychological supporter

“I try to keep the event simple and accessible so that more people feel willing to join.”

Shows the emotional and motivational work involved in reducing barriers to participation.

Community participation

“Support from local community leaders is very important. They help coordinate resources, such as providing activity spaces and basic equipment.”

Shows the dependence of instructors’ role enactment on community support and resource coordination.

Policy and institutional support

“More publicity activities, sports festivals, and health education lectures would increase residents’ interest in physical activity.”

Shows how participants connect policy support, public communication, and participation outcomes.

Supplementary File 4. Summary information underlying tables and figures

This section provides non-identifiable summary information supporting the tables and figures reported in the manuscript. Specific personal names, village-level locations, and transcript-level identifiers are not included.

Sample characteristic

Summary

Number of community sports instructors

36

Gender distribution

20 male instructors and 16 female instructors

Age range

27–46 years

Certification levels

Level I, Level II, and Level III community sports instructor certificates

Working experience

1–15 years

Geographic coverage

Participants were recruited across multiple towns and townships within the selected county-level rural setting

Data collection forms

Individual in-depth interviews and focus group discussions

Figure / table supported

Underlying summary information

Table 1. Basic information of interviewees

The table was based on anonymised participant profiles. For public data sharing, names and village-level community information have been removed or generalized to prevent indirect identification.

Table 2. Semi-structured interview outline

The table was based on the R-TECS framework and includes questions for instructors, local administrators, and residents.

Table 3. Three-level coding table

The table was generated through open, axial, and selective coding and summarizes the coding hierarchy used in MAXQDA.

Table 4. Role configurations code comparison

The table draws on anonymised excerpts mapped to four role categories: cultural communicator, coach, organizer, and psychological supporter.

Table 5. Role cognition and community participation

The table draws on excerpts showing how community support, policy support, and participation conditions shape role enactment.

Figures 1–7

Figures were generated from coded qualitative materials and code co-occurrence or coverage summaries. Raw transcript files and MAXQDA project files are not shared because they may contain identifiable contextual information.

Data sharing restriction note

Full interview transcripts and audio recordings are not made publicly available because the study involves a small, culturally specific rural setting and participants may be indirectly identifiable through combinations of role, community context, age, gender, certification level, work experience, and narrative details. Public sharing of the full qualitative dataset would therefore be inconsistent with participant confidentiality and the informed consent procedures of the study.