Experiences and needs of Saudi mothers when a child or adolescent is diagnosed with type 1 diabetes mellitus: a qualitative study

Figures & data

Table I. Interview guide.

Time of diagnosis

Could you tell me about when your child was diagnosed with T1DM? How did you discover your child had T1DM? Could you tell me about the events that happened on that day. Please tell me about the discharge experience (if the child was hospitalized). What was provided upon discharge (brochures, leaflets, contact numbers, website link)? What support was provided?

Coping strategies How did you cope in the first few weeks after the diagnosis? What helped you cope? What did you find most difficult during this time? What support did you have?

Needs Could you reflect on what you needed at the time of diagnosis? What might have been helpful for you at the time of diagnosis? What about a leaflet with tips from other mother’s experiences, would that have been helpful? What about a video with shared experiences, would that have been helpful? What about a face-to-face support group with other mothers, would that have been helpful? In your opinion what would have been most helpful? What words of advice would you give to a mother going through the same experience now, and why?

Table II. Characteristics of the mothers and their children.

Participant number	Age (years)	City of residence and region	Gender of child	Age of child at diagnosis (years)	Duration of diabetes	HbA1c at diagnosis and DKA status	No. of children with T1DM	Recruitment method
P1	29	Riyadh (Central)	Female	10	6 months	140 mM/M (15%) DKA	2	WhatsApp
P2	32	Riyadh (Central)	Female	11	1 year	130 mM/M (14%)	1	SFH
P3	49	Riyadh (Central)	Female	18	2 years	140 mM/M (15%)	1	SFH
P4	48	Riyadh (Central)	Male	12	1 year	75 mM/M (9%)	1	SFH
P5	46	Abha (Southern)	Female	10	1 year	96 mM/M (10.9%)	1	Twitter
P6	27	Madinah (Western)	Male	7	1.5 years	75 mM/M (9%)	1	Twitter
P7	46	AlAsha (Eastern)	Male	6	7 months	75 mM/M (9%)	1	Twitter
P8	32	Riyadh (Central)	Female	5	8 years	130 mM/M (14%)	2	WhatsApp
P9	48	Riyadh (Central)	Female	14	2 years	68 mM/M (8.4%)	3	SFH
P10	37	Riyadh (Central)	Female	5	1 year	130 mM/M (14%) DKA	2	WhatsApp
P11	38	Jeddah (Western)	Female	9	6 years	75 mM/M (9%)	1	WhatsApp

DKA: diabetic ketoacidosis HbA1c: glycated haemoglobin mM/M: Millimole per mole SFH: Security Forces Hospital T1DM: Type 1 diabetes mellitus

Figure 1. Themes and sub-themes of mothers’ experiences.