With two of my semi-structured interviews completed, I feel like I can say Phase II has started. As SYMPACT is mixed methods this was always part of the plan to invite people with heart failure to share their experiences through completing a survey (Phase I) and by having a conversation with a researcher (me).

Being a nurse I was sure that the survey would tell me in a discrete and measurable way what was going on in their experience. This confidence came from years of evidence-based learning and a belief in the quantitative methods to tell and explain relationships to us. However, as my PhD journey progressed I began to see more power in qualitative methods. My literature synthesis of qualitative papers confirmed the budding idea that numbers and analysis of those number may not tell us the whole story. I began to get excited about my interviews, where initially I felt more like they were something I was being volun-told to do.

Now a mere seedling in the qualitative research world with only a few interviews under my belt I can see the power of interviews more clearly now. I see that they can provide greater depth to quantitative finding and how by working these two strings together you can get stronger rope. I am so excited to see what this will lead to in my initial thoughts and ideas around any interaction of symptoms and burden of treatment in heart failure.

A special thank you goes to those people with heart failure who have and who will be generous by sharing their experiences with me in conversation. I am more confident now that your in-depth experiences will increase our knowledge around heart failure and how to better support your efforts to live with this syndrome.