Living with sub-optimal glycaemic control: the experiences of Type 2 diabetes diagnosis and education

Aim: 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.

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

Method: 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.

Findings: 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.

Conclusion: 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.