Chronic Disease Management: An Interview Report on Type 1 Diabetes

Desklib provides past papers and solved assignments for students. This report details a student's interview with a Type 1 diabetes patient.

Interview Reports 1
Interview Report: Chronic Disease
Subject Title:
Student Name:
Instructor name:
Due date:

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Introduction
Chronic disease is a serious problem in society as many people than ever are being diagnosed
with a chronic disease. People of every race, age and income level are affected by chronic
disease. The increment in the disease is a burden to the healthcare society and economy also.
One of my friends is also suffering from a chronic disease, i.e. diabetes. He is suffering from this
disease for the last four years. I conducted an interview session with my friend so that I can be
able to identify the issues faced by him during the disease. I also want to gain knowledge about
the roles played by the health care team in managing chronic illness. I have collected the
responses of interviewee which he gave to me during the interview.
Diabetes: Chronic disease
The main cause of diabetes is the consequence of the human body to produce the proper amount
of the insulin which regulates blood glucose in the human body. As a result, the blood glucose
level in the body remains above the average level. This can lead to long-term damage along with
various health complications like kidney failure, blindness, cardiovascular disease and lower-
limb amputation. There are two types of diabetes, i.e. Type 1 and Type 2. My friend is suffering
from type 1 diabetes in which treatment with insulin is required. Type 1 diabetes makes life more
challenging for the individual.

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Summary of interviewee’s response
In order to understand the challenges and gain information related to chronic disease, I have
conducted an interview session with my friend. The key objective of the interview session is to
identify individual and societal support along with barriers related to chronic illness
management. The interview session is helpful for me in analyzing advocacy strategies and
healthy public policies to manage chronic disease. In this manner, I asked some question to my
friend and collected the responses in a proper manner. The discussion of the interview questions
and responses are discussed below:
Length of time individual has lived with the chronic illness
I have asked my friend about the length of the time he has lived with chronic illness. In response,
he told me that he is suffering from type 1 diabetes since last 4 years. This is a long time for him
to suffer with this chronic disease. He told me that he has taken the treatment of insulin to deal
with type 1 diabetes as his body is not able enough to produce insulin to maintain the glucose
level.
Barriers faced by the interviewee
In the next question, I asked my friend to explain the barriers faced by him while managing his
chronic illness. Based on his response, I got to know that person with type 1 diabetes has to face

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various barriers and challenges while dealing with the disease. He responded that he has to face
the barriers in terms of proper treatment and attitude of others in society. Patient with type 1
diabetes may face various system barriers in terms of freely accessing speciality services. He has
to face great difficulty in availing health insurance for dealing with the disease. In addition to
this, healthcare providers sometimes do not provide proper support and facilities to deal with
type 1 diabetes. Two of the main barriers faced by interviewee are as follows:
Barriers in accessing quality care- The interviewee has to face the barriers in terms of
assessing quality diabetes care. High rates of access to care in terms of having a regular source of
health insurance coverage, care and preventive services. One of the barriers is the accessibility of
the diabetes specialist. Due to lack of the number of diabetes care specialists, the person with this
chronic disease has to face lots of difficulties (Safaii, & Ramsay, 2013, para. 4, pp. 8).
Physicians’ attitude treating diabetes- The attitude of physicians towards caring for diabetic
patients is also another barrier. Primary care providers consider diabetes more difficult as
compared to any other chronic diabetes. So, they do not want to provide care to diabetic patients.
The interviewee has to face this barrier several times when he visited the hospital for regular
check-ups. According to the interviewee, the physicians sometimes do not have the sense of
urgency which creates a difficult situation for the patients of type 1 diabetes like him.
Societal or individual support

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My next question with the interviewee was related to the societal or personal help that he has in
place. Interviewee responded that support from society and individuals like friends and family is
significant for a diabetic patient. By the proper amount of support, a person can manage this
disease in a better manner. Interviewee ha support of his friends and family members in dealing
with diabetes on daily basis. He responded that support from family and friends motivated him to
manage this chronic disease (Streisand & Monaghan, 2014, para. 2, pp. 523). The support
provided by society and family are as follows:
Support in emotional sides- Interviewee responded that sometimes he has depression and
anxiety disorder. At that time, his family is very helpful in providing supportive treatment by
understanding the symptoms of depression. They give support with the therapy and seek help
from the diabetes care team so that the condition of depression can be minimized. In addition to
this, they help to keep track of diabetes medicines and remember to take them.
Support in following the healthy plan- Next, interviewee responded that his friends are
supportive in following the health plan on a daily basis. They are always with him in following
the physical activity plan also. They have prepared an eating plan for healthy food everyone is
also eating in the same way. In addition to this, friends and family are also helpful in following
the plan related to manage stress and make the appointment of physical check-up on regular
basis (Koetsenruijter, Lieshout & Wensing, 2015, papa. 7).
Role of the health care team

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In the case of type 1 diabetes, the healthcare team has a significant role in managing the illness.
Next question was related to the role of a healthcare team in managing the disease in a proper
manner. In response, interviewee responded that the diabetes care team has an essential role in
maintaining the disease on a regular basis. They are helpful in monitoring the blood sugar level
and dealing with all the concerns related to diabetes. In diabetes care tea, there are primary
healthcare providers, diabetes educator, dietician, endocrinologist, cardiologist, and the person in
emergency contact (Cefalu, 2017, para. 5, pp. 77)). The role of the primary health care provider
is responsible for general check-ups and diabetes care when interviewee gets sick.
Further, the role of diabetes educator is to teach people about diabetes and make them aware
about the disease. A dietician has the role of making a diet plan for eating healthy food. In the
diabetes care team, there is the person for emergency contact to whom the person can contract in
case of an emergency. The positive approach of the diabetes care team is helpful for an
individual to cope with the complications that can arise due to illness (Chamberlain, Kalyani &
Herman, 2017, para. 7). According to the interviewee, the roles of the diabetes care team are as
follows:
 Helpful in diabetes management,
 Helpful in lowering the risk of chronic disease complications,
 Helpful in educating about the ways to minimize the risk factors of type 1 diabetes
 Promote a healthy lifestyle by physical activity, coping skills and healthful eating and

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 Monitor routine check-ups to deal with complications
Importance of response in professional practice
Based on the collection of responses, I am able to enhance my knowledge of chronic disease.
This interview session is helpful for me in understanding the barriers and challenges faced by a
diabetic patient while managing the disease. In terms of professional practices, the responses are
useful in taking significant steps in providing support to diabetic patients if I am going to be a
part of the diabetic care team. I want to enhance my career as a primary healthcare provider so
that I can give necessary support to the patient of chronic healthcare. Based on the responses, I
would be able to enhance my skills and abilities in providing healthcare services to the required
people. Having proper knowledge of diabetes and its complications, I would be able to provide
the best level of support to the patients as enhance my capabilities at the professional level.
Conclusion
Based on the overall discussion, it is clear that proper support is required to the people suffering
from chronic disease. By conducting the interview with my friend who is suffering from chronic
type 1 diabetes I am able to know that it is crucial for the society to provide proper support and
encouragement to the patients so that they can manage their disease in a regular way. Patients
must get the support of therapy from the diabetes care team so that the condition of depression

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can be minimized. The conducted interview is also beneficial in professional practice as proper
knowledge related to the disease is required to provide support and treatment to the patients. This
is also helpful for me to enhance my career as a primary healthcare provider so that I can provide
necessary support for the patient of chronic healthcare.

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References
Cefalu, W. T. (2017). Diabetes Care. The Journal of Clnical and Applied Research and
Education. 40, 1-133.
Chamberlain, J. J., Kalyani, R. R. & Herman, W. H. (2017). Treatment of Type 1 Diabetes:
Synopsis of the 2017 American Diabetes Association Standards of Medical Care in
Diabetes. American College of Physicians. Retrieved from
https://annals.org/aim/fullarticle/2653838/treatment-type-1-diabetes-synopsis-2017-
american-diabetes-association-standards
Koetsenruijter, J., Lieshout, J. V. & Wensing, M. (2015). Social Support and Health in Diabetes
Patients: An Observational Study in Six European Countries in an Era of Austerity.
Retrieved from
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0135079
Safaii, S. & Ramsay, S. (2013). Young Adults with Diabetes Discuss Barriers and Solutions to
Diabetes Management. Advances in Diabetes and Metabolism, 1(1). 6-11.

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Streisand, R. & Monaghan, M. (2014). Young Children with Type 1 Diabetes: Challenges,
Research, and Future Directions. National Center for Biotechnology Information. 14 (9),
520.