Living with sub-optimal glycaemic control: the experiences of Type 2 diabetes diagnosis and education.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of diagnosis and education for people living with Type 2 diabetes who have sub-optimal glycaemic control.


BACKGROUND
The increasing prevalence of Type 2 diabetes is a global concern. Many people have difficulty maintaining optimal glycaemic control with up to 50% having HbA1c levels higher than recommended. A range of factors that have been suggested as possibly contributing to this, however, little is known about how their experience of diagnosis, education and support to attempt to understand the context of their self-management practices.


METHODS
A qualitative thematic analysis of interviews conducted with people with sub-optimal glycaemic control prior to their participation in an intervention study.


METHODS
Thirty participants taking part in a psychosocial/educational intervention for people with sub-optimal glycaemic control were interviewed in 2012 before the intervention commenced. These interviews explored each participant's experience of the diagnosis and associated education. The interviews were transcribed and a thematic analysis was conducted.


RESULTS
Almost all the participants had been shocked at receiving the diagnosis and felt it had been a moral indictment on their lifestyle. Many had been given the impression that they had a mild form of diabetes and most had been given very little information on self-management that they had found useful.


CONCLUSIONS
The findings suggest that for the participants there was a considerable gap between the rhetoric of person-centred services and the reality of the experiences of diagnosis and education for the self-management of Type 2 diabetes.
Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Otago, Christchurch, New Zealand.|Centre for Postgraduate Nursing Studies, University of Otago, Christchurch, New Zealand.
Marie
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7220-8658
M
Crowe
School of Nursing and Midwifery, Edith Cowan University, Perth, Australia.
Lisa
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6395-0279
L
Whitehead
School of Health Sciences, University of Stirling, Scotland, UK.
Carol
C
Bugge
Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Otago, Christchurch, New Zealand.
Dave
D
Carlyle
Department of Psychology, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.
Janet
J
Carter
Centre for Postgraduate Nursing Studies, University of Otago, Christchurch, New Zealand.
Virginia
V
Maskill
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism*; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic
D001786:Blood Glucose
diabetes; nurse; nursing; patient education; qualitative research; self-management; type 2 diabetes