Systematic Reviews
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2022. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Feb 6, 2022; 10(4): 1226-1241
Published online Feb 6, 2022. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i4.1226
What are the self-management experiences of the elderly with diabetes? A systematic review of qualitative research
Ting-Jun Li, Jie Zhou, Juan-Juan Ma, Hui-Yan Luo, Xiao-Mei Ye
Ting-Jun Li, Department of Nursing, The Second People's Hospital of Futian District Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518049, Guangdong Province, China
Jie Zhou, Juan-Juan Ma, Department of Nursing, Shenzhen Shekou People’s Hospital, Shenzhen 518067, Guangdong Province, China
Hui-Yan Luo, Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shenzhen People's Hospital, Shenzhen 518000, Guangdong Province, China
Xiao-Mei Ye, Intensive Care Unit, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou 510220, Guangdong Province, China
Author contributions: Li TJ was responsible for the overall design of the study, conducted the literature search and data collection; Ma JJ extracted the data, undertook the quality assessment, and drafted the manuscript; Ye XM and Zhou J screened the titles/abstracts and full text of studies; Luo HY wrote the first draft; all authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that we have no competing interests.
PRISMA 2009 Checklist statement: The authors have read the PRISMA 2009 Checklist, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the PRISMA 2009 Checklis.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Juan-Juan Ma, MSc, Nurse, Department of Nursing, Shenzhen Shekou People’s Hospital, No. 36 Industrial 7th Road, Nanshan District, Shenzhen 518067, Guangdong Province, China. 812406100@qq.com
Received: August 10, 2021
Peer-review started: August 10, 2021
First decision: September 5, 2021
Revised: October 21, 2021
Accepted: December 28, 2021
Article in press: December 28, 2021
Published online: February 6, 2022
Processing time: 166 Days and 16.3 Hours
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

Aging is an important driver of diabetes prevalence worldwide, and the number of elderly individuals with diabetes may reach over 252.8 million by 2035. Compared with other groups, the elderly presents the highest rate of diabetes-related complications. Hence, synthesizing qualitative evidence about experiences in self-management is critical to strategies for elderly individuals with diabetes.

Research motivation

Understanding the experiences, expectations, needs, and barriers associated with the self-management of diabetes is essential to the planning and implementation of effective interventions. Compared with young people, elderly people are more likely to develop complications, which are complex and difficult to manage. Many studies on the self-management of diabetes have been conducted, but few focused on the elderly. This review addressed this gap, aiming to examine the self-management experiences of elderly people with diabetes.

Research objectives

The current review aimed to (1) Explore the self-management experiences of elderly individuals with diabetes; (2) Provide recommendations for future nursing practice; and (3) Provide recommendations for future research.

Research methods

The framework of population, context, and outcome was used in developing the review question. We performed a comprehensive and systematic electronic literature search, using search terms relevant to the self-management experiences of elderly individuals with diabetes. The inclusion and exclusion criteria were based on population, context, outcome, design, and language. Ten studies were included after selection by two independent reviewers. Finally, thematic analysis techniques were used in synthesizing the included studies’ data, and key concepts were identified from the included research.

Research results

Five common themes emerged: The need for knowledge about diabetes care, support systems, functional decline, attitudes toward diabetes, and healthy lifestyle challenges.

Research conclusions

The current review recommends that healthcare professionals should improve self-management intervention programs for elderly individuals with diabetes and provide person-centered care considering the following dimensions: Information, social support, physical condition, attitude, and lifestyle.

Research perspectives

The current review focuses on the experiences of the elderly. Further qualitative studies are needed to explore the experiences of families and healthcare providers given that they are essential to the elderly’s self-management practice. This review highlights the need for high-quality research including different culture settings and ethnic minorities and considering multimorbidity.