Definitions of resilience and resilience resource use as described by adults with congenital heart disease

Background

Adult congenital heart disease (ACHD) is a lifelong illness that presents ongoing challenges to quality of life. Fostering personal resilience resources to sustain well-being can enhance patients’ psychosocial health.

Objective

We aimed to describe patients’ resilience experiences: how they understand, develop, and utilize resilience resources in managing ACHD.

Methods

We conducted a qualitative study of patients with ACHD. Participants were recruited using maximum variation sampling. Individual, semi-structured interviews were conducted June 2020 to August 2021. We queried approaches to managing ACHD-related stress and experiences with resilience and analyzed responses with thematic analysis.

Results

Participant (N = 25) median age was 32 years (range 22–44); 52% identified as female and 72% non-Hispanic white. Participants’ anatomic ACHD was moderate (56%) or complex (44%); physiologically, 76% were functional class C or D. Participants described various resilience resources, which map to an established resilience framework: 1) internal resources: maintaining positivity, self-directed activity, and setting goals; 2) external resources: social support; 3) existential resources: purpose, gratitude, and cultivating health. Even among participants who reported feeling unfamiliar (8/25) with the term “resilience,” all participants shared experiences reflecting resilience developed while living with ACHD.

Conclusion

ACHD-relevant resilience resources may help patients and clinicians navigate ACHD-related stress and promote psychosocial well-being.