Challenges in ensuring long-term care for individuals living with diabetes: a qualitative study

Exploring Challenges in Providing Lifelong Care for People with diabetes to Design Comprehensive Long-term Care Programs at Shahid Dr. Beheshti Clinic, Shiraz, Iran.

Conduct interviews with a diverse group of 18 individuals, including patients, their families, and the hospital care team, utilizing a purposeful sampling approach, followed by qualitative content analysis.

Three overarching themes emerged: 1) Erratic Adherence to Self-Care, 2) Ineffective Family Support Throughout the Diabetic Journey and 3) Deficiencies in Supportive Organizations. These challenges were further categorized into six distinct areas: 1)Dysfunctional Attitudes, 2)Lack of Awareness and Skills, 3)Mental Health Deviations, 4)Neglect in Family Education that predominantly shaped by the experiential reflections of those directly engaged in providing care services, 5)Psychosocial Challenges in Family Caregiving, 6)Issues in Sustaining Human Resources and Infrastructure were primarily extracted from the narratives and viewpoints shared by patients, their family members and clinic administrators. Based on the prevailing conditions, solutions were proposed within the framework of a long-term diabetes care program to effectively address these challenges.

The findings of the present study highlight significant challenges faced by people with diabetes, their families, and care-providing organizations in delivering long-term care. Consequently, all three groups require structured support to effectively fulfill their caregiving responsibilities.