Experiences of women with gestational diabetes about fear of having diabetes in their babies: A qualitative study

Gestational Diabetes Mellitus is an important public health problem that often occurs during pregnancy. This study aimed to reveal the experiences of women with gestational diabetes regarding the fear of having diabetes in their babies. A qualitative research method was carried out with a phenomenological approach. The interviews had a semi-structured form and were recorded on an online/face-to-face voice recorder, and thematic content analysis was performed on the MAXQDA22. Following the inclusion criteria, 12 women with gestational diabetes from the 2 hospitals in the study were included, and in this way, the study reached saturation. As a result of the interviews, 4 main themes and one subtheme were obtained from coding. The main themes were "sugar baby," "risky child," "raising a fearful baby," and "problematic gene carrier." From the main theme of "problematic gene carrier," the subtheme of "pregnancies with problematic genes" was created. This research sheds light on the problems women with gestational diabetes experience with themselves and their babies, and how they deal with these problems. Women with gestational diabetes try to accept and cope with the diagnosis. This research shows that the women were worried about both themselves and their babies. Illuminating the experiences of women with gestational diabetes is part of an integrative care approach that will help increase quality care and treatment in endocrine clinics. More qualitative studies are needed to learn more about the experiences of women with gestational diabetes in endocrine clinics.

Perspective on insulin use in gestational diabetes: A phenomenological study

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is characterized by carbohydrate metabolism intolerance during pregnancy in individuals with normal blood glucose levels before pregnancy. The first-line treatment for GDM is nutrition and exercise, and insulin therapy is initiated when these are insufficient. Pregnant women who are started on insulin often think that they use drugs that may be harmful to the baby. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the perspectives of women diagnosed with gestational diabetes on insulin use using a phenomenological approach. Qualitative research was conducted using phenomenological patterns. The interviews were recorded on an online/face-to-face voice recorder in a semi-structured form, and thematic content analysis was performed using MAXQDA22. Based on the inclusion criteria of the 2 hospitals specific to the study, 15 patients were included, and the study reached saturation. Three main themes and 2 subthemes were obtained from the coding. The main themes were derived from, "fear," "baby protector," and "last remedy" coding. Pregnant women diagnosed with GDM can define gestational diabetes because of the training provided. Because the pregnancy period is sensitive, pregnant women delay control and insulin application for the health of their babies. Moreover, they sometimes experience pain during the injection, and believe that it may harm their babies.

A determination of the quality of life of children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes and their parents

Objective

Type 1 diabetes is a chronic illness which can have a negative effect on the health care and development of children and can put their lives in danger. This descriptive study aimed to determine the quality of life and the factors affecting it of children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes using the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL).

Methods

The study was conducted in the Child Endocrinology Unit of a University Hospital in Bursa, Turkey. Totally 64 children eight-12 years and 85 adolescents aged 13–18 with type 1 diabetes and their parents were recruited. HbA1c measurements were obtained from the records of the endocrinology clinicare, which were made once every three months, and the average of the last three measurements was taken in the study. The PedsQL was used to measure quality of life of the children and adolescents. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 20.0 and P < 0.05 was considered significant. The demographic data of the children and parents were analyzed using means and percentiles. Pearson's correlation analysis was used to assess the relationship between two averages.

Results

Of the sub-groups on the scale, affective and school function scores were somewhat low, and social function scores were high. The quality of life scores of the children and adolescents were found to correlate with those of their parents. A negative correlation was found between HbA1c levels and adolescent quality of life, a positive correlation was found between the child's age and the quality of life of the child and parents, and a negative correlation was found between the number of children in the family and the quality of life of the child and parents.

Conclusions

An evaluation of the quality of life after a diagnosis of diabetes can be used to assess the problems which may be faced by children and adolescents and to combat these problems.

The effect of self-directed learning abilities of student nurses on success in Turkey

SDL-self-directed learning is a learning method used increasingly in adult education. This study was carried out as an instructive effort to examine the effects of SDL on the success of students from nursing school. The sample of this study was composed of 220 students attending in Nursing School of Dokuz Eyül University during the fall semester of 2006. SDL scale including 40 questions was used to obtain the data. Kocaman et al. verified and validated the reliability of scale in Turkey. The data was evaluated by using Pearson correlation analysis. As a result of research, a positive meaningful average relation was found between the points of SDL and success of the students. (p<0.01, r: .60).