“Sometimes our mob don't really take it serious until it's serious”: The experiences of Western Australian Aboriginal adolescents living with type 2 diabetes, their parents, and their family members
Document Type
Journal Article
Publication Title
Canadian Journal of Diabetes
Volume
47
Issue
5
First Page
420
Last Page
427
PubMed ID
37037417
Publisher
Elsevier
School
School of Nursing and Midwifery
RAS ID
58457
Funders
Healthway
Abstract
Objectives: In Australia, Aboriginal children experience disproportionate rates of type 2 diabetes (T2D) compared with non-Aboriginal children. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences of Aboriginal adolescents with T2D and their family members to better understand the influences of T2D on self-management, with findings used to inform an enhanced service model of care. Methods: Semistructured interviews were conducted with purposively selected Western Australian Aboriginal adolescents with T2D and their parents and guardians. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed with NVivo software using interpretative thematic analysis; overarching themes were generated. Results: Interviews with 24 participants, including 8 adolescents aged 11 to 16 years, were conducted across 4 regions of Western Australia. A high proportion of these adolescents were diagnosed with T2D during an unrelated hospitalization or medical appointment. Most did not fully understand or were unaware of the long-term impact of T2D. Discussions about diabetes within families did not typically occur, and shame and concealment of the diagnosis was a common finding. The parents of the adolescents described the diagnosis of T2D as compounding an already challenging set of circumstances for the family; this impacted their capacity to promote self-management activities and attend hospital and outpatient appointments. Conclusions: This study privileges the voices of Aboriginal adolescents and family members and offers insight into their personal narrative of living with T2D. Building family and community capacity to normalize preventive activities and manage T2D postdiagnosis is recommended to improve health outcomes.
DOI
10.1016/j.jcjd.2023.03.008
Access Rights
subscription content
Comments
Carman, R., Towell-Barnard, A., Shah, M., Davis, E., Maple-Brown, L., Pearson, G., . . . Whitehead, L. (2023). “Sometimes our mob don't really take it serious until it's serious”: The experiences of Western Australian Aboriginal adolescents living with type 2 diabetes, their parents, and their family members. Canadian Journal of Diabetes, 47(5), 420-427. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcjd.2023.03.008