Diabetes mellitus is a major health concern and the number of Americans diagnosed with the disease is quickly increasing, affecting all aspects of an individual’s life and requiring significant self-involvement. Little is known about how low-income Appalachian women with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) manage their diabetes from day-to-day. This population struggles to effectively manage the illness as they desire for many reasons. The purpose of this study is to better understand the experiences of Appalachian women in self-managing diabetes so that health care providers can better meet the social and cultural needs of this unique population.
This study used a qualitative descriptive design. Data were collected by means of in-depth, semi structured interviews. The sample consisted of 5 low-income Appalachian women with T2DM who seek care at the Johnson City Community Health Center. The data analysis was completed by generating a set of themes from the narrative data.
Three themes emerged from the interview data: Achieving Care with Limited Resources; Consistent and Involved Health Care Providers; and Family Support.
Life situations unique to this population can influence the self-management of T2DM. Financial difficulties hinder the overall care that they need and desire, but through consistent and involved care givers and family support, successful self-management can occur in spite of significant barriers.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ETSU/oai:dc.etsu.edu:honors-1169 |
| Date | 01 May 2013 |
| Creators | Austin, Erin |
| Publisher | Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University |
| Source Sets | East Tennessee State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Undergraduate Honors Theses |
| Rights | Copyright by the authors., http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ |
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