Diabetes is a chronic disease which affects approximately 5% of all Canadians and
contributes to considerable health care costs. At present diabetes can be controlled but not cured.
Increased recognition that the provision of diabetes education is essential in diabetes management
has led to the development of education programs in many Canadian hospitals. However,
participation surveys done in the United States indicate that only 12 to 35% of individuals with
diabetes receive education through formal programs. This study seeks to identify factors
deterring participation of elderly Sikh Indo-Canadians with NIDDM in education programs.
In depth interviews were conducted with the research participants. The Adapted Chain of
Response Model was used as the framework to develop questions for the interview guide and to
collect, organize and analyze the data. Deterrents identified in previous studies and supported by
this study include: older age, low self-confidence, questioning the worth of the program, being on
oral medications versus insulin, having one's own ways of self-care, having a family doctor for
treating diabetes, financial concerns, time constraints and transportation problems, and an
underestimation of the seriousness of NIDDM by doctors. Deterrents unique to the study
include: viewing self as healthy, desiring anonymity, reliance on religion, not valuing non-doctors,
lacking familial support, perceiving health professionals as lacking cultural sensitivity, lacking
awareness of program purpose and existence, and not being referred at time of diagnosis. Family
doctors not valuing diabetes education and/or services of health professionals and not
encouraging individuals to attend were also identified as deterrents. This study makes
recommendations for practice and research which may be useful to diabetes educators, health care
organizations and researchers in assisting them to fully understand and address challenges
involved in making diabetes education a reality for a greater number of individuals with diabetes.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/5989 |
| Date | 05 1900 |
| Creators | Sanghera, Rema Rajeeta |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Relation | UBC Retrospective Theses Digitization Project [http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/retro_theses/] |
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