Le. Hendricks et Rt. Hendricks, GREATEST FEARS OF TYPE-1 AND TYPE-2 PATIENTS ABOUT HAVING DIABETES - IMPLICATIONS FOR DIABETES EDUCATORS, The Diabetes educator, 24(2), 1998, pp. 168-173
This exploratory study was undertaken to describe the differences in t
he greatest fears about having diabetes between type 1 and type 2 pati
ents. Frequency distributions, measures of central tendency, and nonpa
rametric statistics were employed to examine the traits of the sample
and to make comparisons between type 1 and type 2 patients. Content an
alysis was used to describe and analyze the subjects' responses to the
question, What is your greatest fear about having diabetes' Subjects'
answers to this question were categorized and scored as representing
fear of either a long-term or acute complication based on the clinical
judgment of the authors. Results revealed that both type 1 and type 2
patients were likely to have given responses that were suggestive of
fear of long-term complications. The major fears concerned amputation,
cardiovascular disease, nephropathy, neuropathy, retinopathy, and str
oke. The findings of the present investigation suggest that diabetes e
ducators may need to address patients' fears of long-term complication
s directly and effectively. Several areas of research that grew out of
this exploratory study were recommended for future consideration.