Experience of patients with diabetic retinopathy: A qualitative study

Invisible Struggle: Diabetes Self-Management Through the Eyes of Diabetic Individuals With Retinopathy

Individuals diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy may experience difficulties in performing daily life activities and maintaining diabetes self-management due to vision problems. This study aimed to conduct an in-depth investigation into challenges and needs experienced in diabetes self-management by individuals diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy. This study employed a descriptive phenomenology study design. Data were collected from 13 diabetic patients through a questionnaire and semi-structured interview form, and were analyzed using the NVivo 12 program. When the qualitative data in the study were analyzed, two main themes were identified for diabetic individuals with retinopathy: daily struggles experienced during diabetes self-management and supportive requirements required for diabetes management. The daily struggles theme included the subthemes of psychological, treatment monitoring, physical activity, and nutrition, while the supportive requirements theme consisted of the subthemes of social support, diabetes technologies, lifestyle changes, and coping methods. Findings indicate that diabetic individuals diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy experienced significant difficulties in the areas of psychology, nutrition, treatment monitoring, and physical activity. They emphasized the need for coping methods and supportive resources for effective diabetes management.

The experience of diabetic retinopathy patients during hospital-to-home full-cycle care: A qualitative study

BACKGROUND

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is one of the major blinding eye diseases worldwide. Psychological, emotional and social problems of DR patients are prominent. The aim of this study is to explore the experiences of patients with different phases of DR from hospital to home based on the "Timing It Right" framework, and to provide a reference for formulating corresponding intervention strategies.

METHODS

The phenomenological method and semi-structured interviews were used in this study. A total of 40 patients with DR in different phases were recruited from a tertiary eye hospital between April and August 2022. Colaizzi's analysis method was used to analyse the interview data.

RESULTS

Based on the "Timing It Right" framework, different experiences in five phases of DR before and after Pars Plana Vitrectomy (PPV) were extracted. The patients experienced complicated emotional reactions and inadequate coping skills during the pre-surgery phase, increased uncertainty during the post-surgery phase, insufficient confidence and the decision to change during the discharge preparation phase, eagerness for professional support and moving forward in exploration during the discharge adjustment phase, and courageous acceptance and positive integration during the discharge adaptation phase.

CONCLUSION

The experiences of DR patients with vitrectomy in different phases of disease are ever-changing, and medical staff should provide personalized support and guidance to help DR patients get through the hard times smoothly and enhance the quality of hospital-family holistic care.