Heart failure patients' experiences of a self-management peer support program: A qualitative study

Objectives: Explore the experiences of patients with heart failure in a self-management support program to inform the development of future interventions that support and motivate patients to engage in self-management. Background: Peer-support programs have led to improved outcomes among patients with other chronic conditions and may result in similar improvements for heart failure patients. Yet, among patients recently hospitalized for heart failure, over half had no or minimal engagement with a reciprocal peer support program. Methods: Qualitative semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of 28 patients (mean age 72; 71% Female; 21% African-American; 75% Caucasian) with different levels and types of engagement in a heart failure self-management support program. Results: Key themes that emerged included the importance of heart failure specific-social support, sharing information, comparing self to others, depression, and functional status. Conclusions: Useful services for heart failure patients provide comfort, restore confidence,, and offer practical solutions. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.