Living with type 1 diabetes as experienced by young adults

Abstract

Aim Describe young adults` (19–30 years) experiences of living with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D). Background Young adulthood is characterized by adaption to adult roles, gradual separation from parental support and leaving the parental home. Living with T1D in young adulthood raises challenges and concerns. Design This study has a qualitative design. Methods Semistructured interviews with 12 young adults living with T1D for 3–14 years, analysed with qualitative content analysis. Results The analysis revealed contradictory ways of handling the illness, as is illuminated in two main categories (a) and five subcategories (b). Handling the situation and dealing with different opinions (a), (b) managing daily life, emotional roller coaster and general attitudes, own views and apprehensions, ignorance and lack of motivation. Most participants were motivated, had knowledge and were in control of their long‐term illness. Planning and structure were an essential part of their daily life. The participants were anxious about losing control of their bodies, the situation, die or be a burden to other people.

Young people with long‐term health challenges experiences in transition to adulthood: A qualitative metasynthesis

“…One young woman living with Type 1 diabetes stated that: ‘My mum has always told me not to be ashamed of myself or my illness. According to her, I can do everything I want and that's what always motivated me’ (Carlsund & Söderberg, 2019, p. 421). In addition to providing emotional support (Labore et al., 2017; Lindsay et al., 2019), parents provided financial assistance (Babic & Dowling, 2015; Fair et al., 2018) and practical care (Babic & Dowling, 2015; Gibson et al., 2014): ‘The people I care about the most is family, because they're supportive and can help you go over challenges and can help you with different – with your care and things like that’.…”

“…(Hamdani et al., 2015, p. 1,148). Young people experienced that friends were supportive (Babic & Dowling, 2015; Carlsund & Söderberg, 2019) and provided practical support, and appearing to enhance community involvement and social interactions (Berry & Domene, 2015, p. 82). Some experienced being in relationships that were understanding and supportive: ‘My boyfriend is fantastic.…”

“…Sometimes at night if I act corny, he measures my blood glucose, just in case. He even keeps me company when meeting my diabetes team’ (Carlsund & Söderberg, 2019, p. 422). Young individuals took comfort in the encouragement and motivation of medical providers who were familiar with their condition: ‘they influence me a lot because a lot of the nurses and the doctors that I have, they were with me since I was a little girl and they've watched me growing up.…”

“…Through trial and error, they sought to gain better control and understanding of their long‐term health challenge and thus recognised the need to take care of themselves: ‘you're not a little kid any longer’ (Labore et al., 2017, p. 74). This included taking charge of their medical management (Carlsund & Söderberg, 2019; Labore et al., 2017; Peeters et al., 2014), making hospital appointments and communicating directly with their physicians regarding treatment plans (Labore et al., 2017; Peeters et al., 2014). But also finding their own solutions to specific problems they encountered (Lankhorst et al., 2017) and incorporating practical strategies for coping with everyday living with respect to housing, leisure activities and transportation (Kola et al., 2015; Lankhorst et al., 2017).…”

Barriers and facilitators of type 1 diabetes self-care in adolescents and young adults

“…Adolescents (10-17 years old) and young adults (18-30 years old) have specific additional challenges related to the self-care of T1DM. Adolescence and young adulthood represent critical time points in the development of identities and exploration in areas such as becoming independent from their parents, going through high school and university, entering the job market and navigating romantic relationships (Carlsund & Söderberg, 2019;Majumder et al, 2017;Saylor et al, 2019). Adolescence and young adulthood are also times when people with T1DM are exposed to risky behaviours such as tobacco, alcohol, and drug use (Abdoli et al, 2017;Carlsund & Söderberg, 2019;Majumder et al, 2017).…”