Everyday Experience of Families Three Years after Diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes in Children: A research paper

The purpose of this study was to illuminate the everyday experience of family members 3 years after a child had been diagnosed as having Type 1 diabetes. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 35 family members in 11 families and analyzed using a content analysis. The results were identified as eight categories describing the family member's everyday experiences: (a) knowledge and tried experience give skills, (b) capricious blood sugar level, (c) ambivalent parenthood, (d) stressful daily planning, (e) physical activity as pleasure and annoyance, (f) fear of losing control, (g) a private and public concern, and (h) needed and not needed medical service. Three years after a child was diagnosed as having diabetes, the illness had become a natural element of the families' life; however, it affected the daily life of family members to different degrees.