Table 1

Interview guide for patients

Content areas	Questions
Living with heart failure	Please, can you describe your illness journey from diagnosis up to the present? What are, if any, the main events that feature in your illness journey? Overall, how well do you feel and do you think you are able to manage your heart failure?
Coping with heart failure	What are your difficulties in managing your disease and the medical prescriptions connected to it?
The health engagement experience	Please tell me, in your own words, what does it mean for you to be engaged in your own care? What are the factors that, in your experience, may facilitate or hinder your involvement in medical decisions and disease management? What are the features of the relation with your physician that facilitate your engagement? What is the role of your family/informal network in supporting you in being more actively engaged in your own care? What kinds of support and resources would be most helpful to support your engagement with your care?