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. 2022 Sep;44(9):830-837.
doi: 10.1177/01939459211019421. Epub 2021 May 29.

An Exploratory Mixed Methods Study of Diabetes self-management in Blind Americans

Nazanin Heydarian  1 , Allyson S Hughes  2 , Osvaldo F Morera  3
Affiliations

An Exploratory Mixed Methods Study of Diabetes self-management in Blind Americans

Nazanin Heydarian et al. West J Nurs Res. 2022 Sep.

Abstract

This study used mixed methods to investigate the experiences of 33 participants who are blind (PWB) and have diabetes in managing their diabetes, support (or lack thereof) from their health care providers, and diabetes distress as PWB. Participants most frequently reported barriers to check blood glucose (55%), maintaining a healthy diet (45%), and distress due to their intersectional status of having blindness and diabetes. Those who mentioned intersectional distress of managing diabetes as a PWB tended to be Braille illiterate and less likely to use mobility tools that are symbolic of blindness (e.g., white cane, guide dog). These results illuminate heterogenous characteristics of PWB with diabetes, an understudied population of public health significance, to be considered when setting priorities for diabetes self-management support and health care coverage policy.

Keywords: Blindness; Diabetes Distress; Diabetes Education; Diabetes self-management; Disability-competent Care.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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