“How can I get diabetes! I want to get healed”: Experiences of adoles-cents living with type 1 diabetes in Ghana

Abstract

This study explored the lived experiences of adolescents with type 1 diabetes and the challenges of self-care management. A qualitative design (interpretative phenomenological analysis approach) was employed where ten adolescents consisting of males and females, with a mean age of 16.8 years were interviewed from two hospitals. Data was analyzed using the interpretative phenomenological analysis, which generated three superordinate themes: 1) Searching for answers, 2) Adjusting to diabetes diagnosis and 3) Coping with diabetes. Adolescents described experiencing ‘abnormal’ symptoms which led them to seek medical attention, and the negative emotions they experienced upon diagnosis with type 1 diabetes. They reported their diabetes self-care management as demanding and exhaustive, with disruptions from school activities. Their ways of coping included receiving social support from family and friends, having faith in God, and receiving education from medical experts and diabetes support groups. Findings were evidence of an incomplete care system for these adolescents as their main model of care was biomedical care.  There is therefore the need to include psychological and social interventions to constitute a holistic care system for improved wellbeing after diagnosis.