Type 1 diabetes in young people: the impact of social environments on self-management issues from young people’s and parents’ perspectives.

Abstract

In the UK, young people with type 1 diabetes generally have poor glycaemic control. Managing type 1 diabetes in young people is complex, and is underpinned by relationships with significant others in the social environments they inhabit. This qualitative study explores the social environments of young people with type 1 diabetes and their potential influence on glycaemic control. Twenty young people with type 1 diabetes and their parents (n=27) were interviewed about their experiences in the environments of the home, with friends (social), at school and in the diabetes clinic. It was found that the diabetes clinic was vital to the medical management of type 1 diabetes, and the family provided stable support for most young people with type 1 diabetes. However, there were barriers to self-management in school and social environments. It was concluded that each family had a unique story about the social factors in the environments they encountered that affected self-management of type 1 diabetes.