When qualitative data contradict quantitative data: diabetes distress in the Chinese-Canadian community

To use both quantitative and qualitative approaches to characterize the diabetes distress profile of Chinese-Canadians with Type 2 diabetes and to better understand their experience of living with diabetes.

We recruited 40 Chinese-Canadian adults with Type 2 diabetes who completed a Mandarin- or Cantonese-language diabetes education programme in Richmond, British Columbia. Using a mixed-methods sequential explanatory research design, participants first completed a 15-item Chinese version of the Diabetes Distress Scale, which included three subscales: emotional burden, regimen-related distress, and physician distress. The self-report survey was followed by a semi-structured interview that addressed the following diabetes-related topics: perspectives towards the healthcare team, emotional health, diabetes-related concerns and stressors, diabetes diagnosis experience, and sources of social support and diabetes education.

The mean (sd) scores for total distress 1.5 (0.5), emotional burden 1.7 (0.7), regimen-related distress 1.4 (0.5), and physician distress 1.4 (0.9), fell within the 'low distress' range (< 2.0). Qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews showed that some participants were dissatisfied with diabetes care providers and experienced emotional challenges, particularly early in their diagnosis. Other themes that emerged included eating distress, fear of complications, language barriers, and medication concerns.

Not only did the qualitative findings from semi-structured interviews capture aspects of diabetes distress that were not included in the quantitative survey, it also uncovered inconsistencies between the two datasets. To more accurately understand the diabetes distress experience of any ethnic community, both quantitative and qualitative approaches contribute unique value.