Parents’ experiences of caring for a child younger than two years of age treated with continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion

Abstract

Diabetes during infancy is uncommon and continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) is the recommended treatment with such young children. However, this form of treatment has not been investigated previously from the perspective of the parents.

The aim of this study was to determine parents’ experiences of caring for a child less than two years old who had diabetes mellitus and was being treated with CSII therapy.

Three pairs of parents were interviewed twice to elucidate their views on the initial period and on daily living. Data were submitted to qualitative content analysis and resulted in seven categories and one theme, the latter being: ‘The diabetes disease was threatening our baby’s life, but then the insulin pump came as a rescuing, though challenging, angel’. Parents initially felt life had been turned upside down, but later they felt in control nearly all the time.

It was concluded that parents of infants with diabetes are in great need of support in order to manage the disease and CSII technology. The fear of losing control and the lack of relief lead to social isolation. Educating someone close to the family could be a valuable intervention.

Keywords:

• diabetes mellitus
• parents
• infant
• child
• insulin infusion system
• qualitative study