This thesis uses a qualitative design to explore the experiences of adolescents with type 1 diabetes (AT1D) regarding their diabetes management.
The literature review involved a systematic review of the literature on adolescents’ experience of diabetes management, and a meta-synthesis of their findings. Adolescents described barriers to diabetes management including a lack of knowledge, skills, support and resources to feel equipped to manage their diabetes. They reported becoming overwhelmed by the complex regime and levels of responsibility, which was enhanced when parents intermittently took over control. This sometimes led to resentment and rebellion, resulting in deliberate mismanagement. Non-deliberate mismanagement included adolescents’ belief that they could intuitively determine their blood glucose levels without monitoring them as per their regime. Implications include researching the concept of intuitively monitoring blood glucose levels and increasing knowledge and resources for adolescents to feel self-efficacious.
Five adolescent-caregiver dyads were interviewed about their experiences of using a blood glucose monitor in the empirical paper. Thematic analysis of this data found themes of: Practicalities of using the device, where participants evaluated the device and it’s impacts on diabetes outcomes; Emotional consequences relating to mostly reduced anxiety yet the potential for guilt and shame; Choice/Control regarding their diabetes management practices; Social responses, where participants described the device as allowing them to be discreet to maintain social relationships and feel like a ‘normal teen’; and Responsibility, whereby participants described the need for responsible use of the device and the potential for conflicts with caregivers when this is not achieved. Future implications include research into those with issues managing their diabetes or the newly diagnosed and providing supportive communication training to service providers and family members.
The final paper examines contributions to theory development and clinical practice and summaries areas requiring further research.