Article Text
Abstract
Objective Guided Self-Determination (GSD) is a person-centered communication and reflection method. Education in groups may have a greater impact than the content of the education, and constructive communication between parents and adolescents has been shown to be of importance. The purpose of this study was to describe adolescents’ perceptions of participation in group education with the Guided Self-Determination-Young (GSD-Y) method, together with parents, in connection with the introduction of continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion.
Research design and methods In the present qualitative interview study, 13 adolescents with type 1 diabetes were included after completing a GSD-Y group education program in connection with the introduction of continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion at three hospitals located in central Sweden. The adolescents were interviewed individually, and qualitative content analysis was applied to the interview transcripts.
Results Two categories that emerged from the analysis were the importance of context and growing in power through the group process. An overarching theme that emerged from the interviews was the importance of expert and referent power in growing awareness of the importance of self-management as well as mitigating the loneliness of diabetes.
Conclusions GSD-Y has, in various ways, mitigated experiences of loneliness and contributed to conscious reflection about self-management in the group (referent power) together with the group leader (expert power). Overall, this highlights the benefits of group education, and the GSD method emphasizes the person-centered approach.
Trial registration number ISRCTN22444034; Results.
- adolescents / children
- patient education
- qualitative research
- type 1
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Footnotes
Contributors ALB contributed to the study design, conducted data collection, analysed and interpreted data, and wrote the manuscript. ALO contributed to the study design, analysed and interpreted data, and reviewed/edited the manuscript. GV contributed to the study design, analysed and interpreted data, and reviewed the manuscript. TG reviewed and edited the manuscript, and contributed to the discussion. JL contributed to the study design, conducted data collection, analysed and interpreted data, and reviewed the manuscript.
Funding This study was supported by grants from Barndiabetesfonden (the Swedish Child Diabetes Foundation), Diabetesförbundet (the Swedish Diabetes Association Research Foundation), funding for care research from Uppsala University, Diabetesstiftelsen (the Swedish Diabetes Foundation), the Sven Jerring Foundation, the Clas Groschinsky Memorial Fund, and Swedish Association for Nurses in Diabetes Care (SFSD).
Competing interests None declared.
Patient consent Parental/guardian consent obtained.
Ethics approval The Ethical Review Board in Stockholm, Sweden, approved the study (2011/762-31/4 and 2012/2124-32), which was carried out in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.