Personal growth, symptoms, and uncertainty in community-residing adults with heart failure.

BACKGROUND: Personal growth has not been studied extensively in heart failure (HF).

OBJECTIVES: To characterize personal growth in HF and its relationships with symptom burden, uncertainty, and demographic and clinical factors.

METHODS: Associations among personal growth, uncertainty, symptom burden, and clinical and demographic variables were examined in adult outpatients with HF using bivariate correlations and multiple regressions.

RESULTS: Participants (N = 103; 76% male, mean age = 74 years, 97% New York Heart Association classes II and III) reported moderate levels of personal growth, uncertainty, and symptom burden. Personal growth was weakly correlated with age and symptom burden but not with other study variables. In a regression model, age, sex, ethnicity, disease severity, time since diagnosis, symptom burden, and uncertainty were not significant independent correlates of personal growth.

CONCLUSIONS: Community-residing patients with HF report moderate personal growth that is not explained by uncertainty, symptom burden, or demographic and clinical variables.