title: Impact of hypoglycemia on daily life of type 2 diabetes patients in Ukraine.
abstract: This study evaluates the impact of hypoglycemia on the lives of Ukrainian patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The secondary objective was to explore patient-physician relationships and the attitudes of patients towards various informational resources on diabetes management. Three focus groups with 26 patients were conducted. Qualitative information was evaluated using content analysis. The results show that patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in Ukraine are adapting to potential attacks of hypoglycemia; however, they still experience periodic manifestations of hypoglycemia that significantly affect their psychological well-being. This result is similar to observations made in other countries. Ukrainian patients >40 years old mainly receive information on disease management from endocrinologists, and rarely use internet resources on diabetes management. Information provision was especially important at the early stage of the disease, when patients lack information on hypoglycemia manifestations and could therefore fail to identify and manage it properly.
authors.affiliation: Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands ; Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University, Lviv ; MSD Ukraine.
authors.forename: Olena
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Mandrik
authors.forename: Johan L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Severens
authors.forename: Olena
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Doroshenko
authors.forename: Vladymir
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pan'kiv
authors.forename: Nonna
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kravchun
authors.forename: Maryna
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vlasenko
authors.forename: Mykola
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hulchiy
authors.forename: Maryna
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Baljuk
authors.forename: Yuliia
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Komisarenko
authors.forename: Eugene
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Martsynik
authors.forename: Liubov
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sokolova
authors.forename: Olga
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Zalis'ka
authors.forename: Boris
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mankovsky
keywords: Europe; developing countries; diabetes; eastern; quality of life