Living with diabetes: quality of care and quality of life

Figures & data

Table 1 Sociodemographic and clinical data for informants

Gender	Men	18
	Women	22
Age (years)	54.2 ± 17.5 (range 20–82)
Type of DM	DM1	14
	DM2	26
Treatment of DM	Oral antidiabetic agents	19
	Oral antidiabetic agents + insulin	1
	Insulin	16
	Continuous insulin infusion pump	4
Time since diagnosis of DM (years)	9.88 + 7.8 (range 0.5–30)
Presence of acute complications	Hypoglycemia	28
Presence of chronic complications known by the patient	Retinopathy	8
	Nephropathy	2
	Diabetic foot	1

Abbreviations: DM, diabetes mellitus; DM1, type 1 diabetes mellitus; DM2, type 2, diabetes mellitus

Table 2 Patient requirements of health professionals and administrators

Requirements of health professionals

Requirements of health administrators

Treatment should be individualized because each body and each person is different Physicians should spend more time with patients and talk and express their opinions less Nurses should show greater patience; controlling diabetes is not as easy as they think Education should be continuous and talks and workshops should be continually organized Patients should not be asked to do the impossible without bearing in mind their opinions and possibilities Professionals should not lecture patients; patients are adults, know what they want, and should be respected The public should not be given a catastrophic view of diabetes mellitus; this picture is harmful to patients socially and occupationally

Number of physicians and nurses should be increased Position of case manager should be created in all hospitals to coordinate investigations in the least possible time and to consider the needs of each patient individually Physicians should be changed less frequently because they never get to know the patient Diabetes units should be created in primary health centers with specialized physicians and nurses Necessary material should be provided with individualized follow-up of needs and use of materials Processes should be simplified; modern computerized or technological systems and computerized prescriptions or magnetic cards should be introduced so that pharmacies can dispense all the material required at any time of day Budgets should be controlled so that patients are not told that they cannot be given strips or that they have to monitor themselves less often Research to cure diabetes or improve treatment and quality of life in affected individuals should be stimulated