Psychosocial determinants of glycaemic control in people with type two diabetes

Abstract

Whilst the number of people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes continues to rise to epidemic proportions, there has been a more moderate rise in the acknowledgement of the psychosocial factors that play a role in the treatment and care of diabetes. What is evident is that psychological and social factors can improve outcomes in diabetes. Despite the potential role of family members in influencing diabetes care, they are not routinely included in its management and the lack of research in this area reflects this neglect. The purpose of this research was to investigate the psychosocial differences between those in good and poor control of their diabetes. In order to understand how these psychosocial differences influence diabetes control, this research took an extreme groups approach - comparing those in good control of their diabetes (HbA1C < 7) with those in poor control (HbA1C > 8.5), along with their family members. In order to verify the appropriateness of taking this extreme groups approach and to access the untapped views of those with diabetes and their family members, a preliminary, qualitative stage research was conducted before embarking on a larger-scale quantitative study.