Swedish pediatric diabetes teams' perception of fathers' involvement: A Grounded Theory study

The purpose of this study was to analyze how Swedish pediatric diabetes teams perceived and discussed fathers' involvement in the care of their child with type 1 diabetes. It also aimed to discuss how the teams' attitudes towards the fathers' involvement developed during the data collection process. The Constructivist Grounded Theory design was used and data were collected during three repeated focus group discussions with three Swedish pediatric diabetes teams. The core category of the teams' perception of fathers' involvement emerged as: If dad attends, we are happy - if mom doesn't, we become concerned. Initially the teams balanced their perception of fathers' involvement on the mother's role as the primary caregiver. In connection with the teams' directed attention on fathers, in the focus group discussions, the teams' awareness of the importance of fathers increased. As a consequence, the team members began to encourage fathers' engagement in their child's care. We conclude that by increasing the teams' awareness of fathers as a health resource, an active health promotion perspective could be implemented in pediatric diabetes care.