The lived experiences of being a father of a child with type 1 diabetes| A phenomenological study

<p> Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition which has seen numbers increase in recent years. Being a diabetic is neither easy for the diabetic themselves nor the parents raising the diabetic child. In looking over the literature, very little research was found on the lived experiences of fa...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Stambaugh, Jon D.
Language:EN
Published: Saint Mary's University of Minnesota 2016
Subjects:
Online Access:http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10112052
Description
Summary:<p> Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition which has seen numbers increase in recent years. Being a diabetic is neither easy for the diabetic themselves nor the parents raising the diabetic child. In looking over the literature, very little research was found on the lived experiences of fathers raising a child with type 1 diabetes. Therefore, a qualitative design with a phenomenological approach was used in order to discover and describe the phenomenon. This study was based on 12 male respondents (fathers) who shared their experiences on parenting a child with type 1 diabetes. The responses of the 12 participants revealed four major themes discovered via the hermeneutic method of textual description, and sought to present the essence of their lived experience. The four major themes were diabetes is forever, dealing with it, increased pressure, and the &ldquo;new normal.&rdquo; The lived experiences of fathers who participated in this study disclosed a sense of resiliency, while learning a lot of information, quickly to better understand type 1 diabetes. The interviewees wanted to share their stories and help others, interested in this topic, gain a better understanding of what life is like parenting and raising a child with type 1 diabetes.</p>