Symptom experience, symptom management strategies, and health related quality of life among people with heart failure

Abstract

Heart failure is a chronic condition in which people experience multiple symptoms and use numerous symptom management strategies, but the effectiveness of these is varied, affecting health-related quality of life. This descriptive, correlational study aimed to examine the predictability of health–related quality of life using symptom experience (prevalence, frequency, severity, and distress), symptom management strategies, and selected variables (age, employment status, and comorbid condition) among people with heart failure. One hundred and forty people with heart failure were recruited using purposive sampling from the outpatient departments of three general hospitals in Myanmar. Data were collected using four self-administered questionnaires: a Personal Information Questionnaire, the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire, the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale–Heart Failure, and the Symptom Management Strategies–Heart Failure. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Spearman’s correlation and hierarchical multiple regression. Lack of energy was ranked first in almost all dimensions of symptom experience. The participants used an average of 18.53 symptom management strategies of which the most effective strategy was “taking the prescribed drugs to excrete extra water," and their health–related quality of life was reported at a moderate level. The predictors of health-related quality of life were symptom experience, symptom management strategies, age, employment status, and comorbid condition, which explained 54.3% of the variance, and the symptom severity dimension was the strongest predictor. The findings highlight that heart failure nursing intervention should focus on reducing symptom experience, increased use of effective symptom management strategies, and prevention of comorbidities to improve health–related quality of life.