Meaning unit (examples of each theme)	Category	Subtheme	Theme
“Heart failure, that means that the heart has failed… it is not working any more… to me reduced pump function means that it is not pumping as it should… it is two completely different things… heart failure… it sounds awfully severe” (Male 7, focus group)	Thoughts that concern the heart condition	Confusion about what heart failure is	Anxiety and uncertainty as  driving forces for learning
“At home… really feeling unwell and dizzy if I just make a few quick movements… and in such a way that it comes just by doing normal house chores – I am in doubt about if I should ignore it or? I took my blood pressure, 119/68 and later 130/90... I doubt if I can go for physical exercises... I have experienced these days before and I think if it is the “pressure”; we had a death in the family and I was “on”, had a lot of tasks… I think maybe that there is a tendency to dizziness when I have too much to do… not just physically, but when I’m “on”…” (Female 4, diary)	Experiencing (unrecognizable) bodily sensations, unsure about what it is and how to respond	Trying to understand and make sense of bodily sensations/experiences	Managing my condition
“I can’t, for instance, vacuum (clean) as I could before…now I have to plan much more…when I wash the floor I need to lie down for half an hour and then go on with the next floor…there are so many limitations…and I have been used to jumping around dealing with everything…so I find it hard … and when you are going out…you need to go somewhere where you can rest…I think that is probably the worst…” (Female 2, focus group)	Domestic chores have become difficult/ challenging and require planning. The need to rest has become a new basic term / (condition of life)	Heart failure puts limitations on what you can do – on daily life. New ways to manage must be learned	Managing my daily life

Int J Med Educ. 2017; 8:47-58; doi: 10.5116/ijme.5898.309e