A Qualitative Exploration of Motivation to Self-Manage and Styles of Self-Management amongst People Living with Type 2 Diabetes

Abstract EN

The study examined the motives that people living with type 2 diabetes (T2D) had for self-managing their condition and ways they used to assess the success of their self-management efforts.

Using semistructured interviews (N=25), focus groups (3 × N=12 participants), and open-ended questionnaires (N=6), people living with and self-managing T2D were recruited from a community-based T2D participation group.

Most participants were older (aged 60+) and lived in a socioeconomically deprived area in the United Kingdom.

Data were analysed thematically using framework analysis.

Patients’ motives for self-management included (i) concern about the anticipative effects of T2D; (ii) wishing to “stay well”; (iii) maintaining independence; (iv) reducing the need for healthcare professionals; and (v) improving quality of life.

Six self-management styles were found and pertained to self-managing: (i) through routinisation; (ii) as a burden; (iii) as maintenance; (iv) through delegation; (v) through comanagement; and (vi) through autonomy.

Motivators for self-management shaped the criteria people used to judge the success of their self-management practices and influenced their self-management style.

The findings show that styles of T2D self-management are mediated and moderated by sociocontextual issues.

Healthcare professionals should take these into account when supporting people living with T2D.