Background: Diabetes is a disease which requires interaction between the providers of care and the patient, a lot of education of the patient, and motivation on the part of the patient to adhere to management. A lot of times providers of care are oblivious to the patients’ difficulties leaving the agendas of the providers oftentimes to run parallel to the agendas of the patients. The aims of this study were therefore:
1. To establish the impact of the disease on the lives of the patients
2. To establish the difficulties encountered by them in the care of their disease
3. To find out from them what improvements they considered should be made to help them in the care of the disease.
Results: The major themes that emerged from the survey included the isolating effect that a diagnosis of diabetes had on the family and lifestyles of the patients, and the poor access to services especially the dietician and chiropody services. Although the patients admitted to receiving adequate information about the disease at the outset of the diagnosis, there was consensus that they required more information as they went along. The patients also perceived their care to be better as a result of having another chronic disease cared for. Other themes included the psychological and physical effects of the disease and the financial difficulties the patients encountered in their care.
Conclusion: Diabetic patients are worried about the effects the diagnosis of diabetes has on their lifestyle and family lives. The diabetic diet is also a huge issue for the patients. The major difficulty expressed by the patients was the lack of access to ancillary services. They also require a lot of information not only at diagnosis but as they go along. For the fee-paying patients, they perceived their care would be much improved if the services were free.
Method: The Study employed a Qualitative research method. A 3-round Delphi survey was conducted amongst a cross-section of Type 2 diabetic patients in an Irish urban General Practice that has access to a Specialist Endocrinologist service in Secondary Care. Eighteen patients consented to take part in all rounds of the survey. Three open-ended questions were asked in the first round, and through a series of controlled feedback analysis of the various themes generated, the members of the panel arrived at a consensus.
| Status | Current |
|---|---|
| Publisher | South East General Practice Training |
| Description | Background: Diabetes is a disease which requires interaction between the providers of care and the patient, a lot of education of the patient, and motivation on the part of the patient to adhere to management. A lot of times providers of care are oblivious to the patients’ difficulties leaving the agendas of the providers oftentimes to run parallel to the agendas of the patients. The aims of this study were therefore: 1. To establish the impact of the disease on the lives of the patients 2. To establish the difficulties encountered by them in the care of their disease 3. To find out from them what improvements they considered should be made to help them in the care of the disease. |
| Other Contributors(s) | Dr Stephanie Dowling, Dr Tony Lee |
| Publication Year | 2011 |
| Data Available to other researchers? | Yes |
| Completion Date | 30/06/2011 |
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