title: Challenges to developing diabetes self-management skills in a low-income sample in North Carolina, USA.
abstract: High rates of diabetes diagnosis and poor diabetes outcomes are particularly significant in low-income, socially disadvantaged populations. Although many social and economic predictors of poor self-management outcomes are known, few studies have examined how these elements impact the ability to develop self-management capacities in low-income populations. This article presents new insights into low-income women's challenges and successes to becoming more adept self-managers. Interview data were collected in 2012 with a sample of low-income, middle-age women with type II diabetes recruited from a non-profit medical clinic serving low-income clients in North Carolina, United States. Data were analysed using a grounded theory approach. Developing self-management skills within disadvantaged life contexts involved negotiating three related, overlapping sub-processes: negotiating access to care systems, negotiating disruptions to diabetes self-management patterns, and negotiating self-care knowledge. Developing diabetes self-management skills is a long and arduous process. Data and analysis presented here help explain how disadvantaged life contexts can impact self-managers' efforts to develop self-management skills and why continued support is important for reducing and preventing future problems. These initial findings suggest that future studies and intervention development on the topic are warranted.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Gerontology, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, USA.
authors.forename: Heather Ann
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Fritz
mesh_terms: D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D066296:Grounded Theory; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009657:North Carolina; D011203:Poverty; D000073278:Self-Management / Q000523:psychology*; D035862:Vulnerable Populations
keywords: diabetes; healthcare; illness self-management; low-income; skill development