Transitions: Experiences of women with type 1 diabetes

The relationship among psychosocial stress, coping and metabolic control has a key effect on diabetes clinical outcomes and mental health. Life transitions are peak times of major change within personal and social contexts, which add stress affecting on peoples problem solving. The thesis describes young women with Type 1 diabetes perspectives of the problems encountered and how they managed them when they faced turning points and made life transitions. The study identified the women s health concerns and factors that enhanced or hindered their ability to manage turning points and transitions. A substantive theory that comprised a problem of being in the grip of blood glucose levels (BGLs) and a process termed creating stability to manage life transitions was developed. The state of being in the grip of BGLs was associated with the impact of fluctuating BGLs; responses of other people to the womens diabetes and the impact of diabetes on other people s lives. The women managed these problems by engaging in social and psychological strategies helping them to stabilised their lives and feel more in control during life transitions.