I Wanted Diabetes Out—Lived Experiences of Diabetes Burnout from Bloggers with Type 1 Diabetes

Abstract

Objective: To define and understand diabetes burnout through thematic analysis of narrative posts, written by adults with type 1 diabetes (T1D), published in publicly available blogs. Research Design and Methods: A qualitative thematic analysis of 35 posts published in 21 blogs from the U.S., UK, and Ireland, written by adults with T1D, provided the basis for definition(s) of diabetes burnout. Data management (Nvivo 11 Pro) and analysis included three phases: immersion, reduction, and interpretation (kappa=.91). Results: Findings included five main themes that described diabetes burnout: (1)Burnout is a “detachment” from diabetes care; (2) the “demanding life” of diabetes leads to burnout; (3) struggling with “perfect” numbers adds to burnout; (4) “life events” are catalysts to burnout; (5) and overcoming burnout is like “climbing out of a difficult hole.” Conclusions: Analysis of blogs provided unique insights into the concept of diabetes burnout. Five themes were identified that ranged from detachment from diabetes care to difficulties in overcoming diabetes. These data provide a next step into understanding diabetes burnout and factors that may co-occur. Further research needed to advance science of diabetes burnout to improve quality of care and quality of life of individuals with diabetes. Disclosure S. Abdoli: None. A.C. Vora: Speaker's Bureau; Self; Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Novo Nordisk Inc., Sanofi-Aventis, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. D.M. Hessler: Consultant; Self; Eli Lilly and Company. H.L. Stuckey: Consultant; Spouse/Partner; Calibra Medical, Eli Lilly and Company. Research Support; Spouse/Partner; Novo Nordisk Inc.. Research Support; Self; Eli Lilly and Company, Novo Nordisk Inc..