Sharp, Molly;
(2023)
Finding out your child has Type 1 Diabetes: understanding the experiences of parents when their child is diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
Doctoral thesis (D.Clin.Psy), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
Overview. In 2019, Diabetes UK released a report recommending more research be conducted to explore the impact of the delivery of a diagnosis of type 1 diabetes (T1D) on the wellbeing of people living with the condition. The following thesis aims to add to this evidence base by exploring the diagnosis experiences of parents of children and adolescents living with T1D. This is achieved by firstly synthesising existing literature addressing this topic, and by qualitatively exploring parents’ accounts of the diagnosis experience to contribute further to the evidence base. Part One comprises a systematic literature review of existing literature focusing on the diagnosis experiences of parents of children and adolescents with T1D. Of the publications retrieved, 21 are included and analysed using thematic synthesis. Themes include: ‘Realising something was wrong’, ‘Hearing the diagnosis’, ‘An overwhelming initiation to T1D’, ‘Stepping out into a new reality’, and ‘The transformational impact of diagnosis’. Findings highlight the long-term emotional impact of finding out one’s child has T1D, factors that help and harm parents during this process, and the need for further exploration of the experiences of parents throughout the entirety of the diagnosis journey. Part Two comprises an Interpretive Phenomenonlogical Analysis (IPA) study exploring parents’ experiences of their children being diagnosed with T1D in the UK, including exploration of the healthcare recieved. Ten parents participated in semi-structured interviews. Identified themes included ‘Responding to a crisis’, ‘A sudden state of uncertainty’, ‘A threat to parental role’, ‘Developing a new parental role’, and ‘T1D diagnosis holds a distressing legacy’. Parents described the array of emotions they experienced at different times during the diagnosis journey and how some of these endured, how interactions with healthcare professionals (HCPs) promoted and undermined their sense of safety during the diagnosis, and the impact of the diagnosis on their parental identity. Part Three brings together the primary researcher’s reflections on issues and dilemmas that came up during the research process. Reflexivity and the role of self in the research are discussed, as well as a discussion on issues of power.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | D.Clin.Psy |
| Title: | Finding out your child has Type 1 Diabetes: understanding the experiences of parents when their child is diagnosed with type 1 diabetes |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2023. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10178624 |
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