The Experiences of Older Italian Migrants With Type 2 Diabetes: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

A need for greater access to interpreters and information in Italian was identified. Counselling services may be necessary for this group.

The Complexity of Living with Diabetes and Urinary Incontinence for Older Adults with Multiple Chronic Conditions Receiving Home Care Services: An Interpretive Description Study

“…Second, living with T2DM and UI involves a challenging self-care regimen for home-care recipients. This finding is consistent with the qualitative literature regarding self-management of T2DM for older adults (Carolan-Olah & Cassar, 2018;Joo & Lee, 2016;Song et al, 2009). The careful balancing that participants described in managing their chronic conditions is commonly reported in the multiple chronic conditions literature (Boyd & Fortin, 2010) For example, that treatment for one condition (e.g., diuresis) worsens another condition (e.g., incontinence), or a treatment (e.g., exercise for weight loss in a person with diabetes) is not feasible due to complications related to another condition (e.g., shortness of breath in chronic obstructive lung disease (Boyd & Fortin, 2010;Grembowski et al, 2014).…”

“…Some qualitative descriptive research has explored the experiences of living with diabetes for older adults. These participants experienced challenges in self-managing, such as forgetting to take medications or feeling too unwell to exercise (Carolan-Olah & Cassar, 2018; Joo & Lee, 2016; Song et al, 2009). Older adults described benefiting from assistance with self-management activities, such as meal preparation, from caregivers and home-care providers (Brewer-Lowry et al, 2010; Song et al, 2009).…”

What are the self-management experiences of the elderly with diabetes? A systematic review of qualitative research

“…However, one study[ 31 ] reported that some participants received benefits when they understood the information; they were motivated to continue their self-management behaviors when they knew the benefits of self-management. They sought information initiatives[ 32 ] and were happier to learn more about diabetes care[ 33 ]. This theme shows high confidence according to the CERQual assessment and details are presented in Table 3 below.…”

“…Seven of ten papers mentioned functional decline[ 27 , 30 - 33 , 36 , 37 ], discussing aging-related symptoms, memory loss, joint pain, deterioration of vision, peripheral nerve damage, and weakness, which made self-management challenging for the participants. Owing to memory loss, the participants sometimes forgot to take their prescribed medicines, or were unable to remember whether or not they had taken their prescribed medicines.…”

“…Regular exercise is important to people with diabetes; however, owing to frailty, pain, physical limitations, and less self-discipline, participants lack exercise[ 27 , 31 - 33 , 36 ]. Moreover, trying to maintain physical activity can increase depressive symptoms because of the pain and difficulty associated with their declining health conditions[ 33 ]. Only one study indicated that the included participants were willing to participate in an exercise program[ 37 ].…”