Making dietary changes following a diagnosis of prediabetes: a qualitative exploration of barriers and facilitators.

AIM: To explore the experiences of people recently diagnosed with prediabetes and overweight or obese in making dietary changes following a six-month primary care nurse-delivered dietary intervention pilot. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 participants, purposefully selected to ensure a mix of ethnicity, gender and glycaemic outcome. Thematic analysis of interview data was undertaken. RESULTS: Participants described feeling shocked when they received the diagnosis of prediabetes. Three core themes, each containing subthemes, emerged: (i) supportive factors - determination not to develop diabetes, clear information and manageable strategies, and supportive relationships; (ii) barriers - lack of family support, financial constraints, social expectations around food, and chronic health issues; and (iii) overcoming challenges - growing and sharing food, using frozen vegetables and planning. Challenges related to cultural expectations around providing and partaking of food were more evident for indigenous Maori participants. CONCLUSIONS: A diagnosis of prediabetes provides a window of opportunity for healthcare professionals to work with those diagnosed and their families to make healthful dietary changes. Dietary guidance is likely to be most effective when individuals' life circumstances are taken into account. Clear information and supportive relationships to facilitate lifestyle change are extremely important. (Clinical Trials Registry No; ANZCTR ACTRN1261500080656).

Negotiated autonomy in diabetes self-management: the experiences of adults with intellectual disability and their support workers.

BACKGROUND: The basic human right of autonomy is underpinned by the ability to practice decision-making. The rights of people with disabilities to engage in autonomous decision-making are promoted as best practice and includes decisions around health and self-care. Little is known about autonomy in the field of long-term condition management. This paper explores how people with intellectual disabilities (ID) and their support workers experience and practice autonomy in relation to the management of diabetes. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were completed in residential and independent living settings with people living with an ID and type 1 (N = 8) or type 2 (N = 6) diabetes and their support workers (N = 17). The participant with ID's support worker was present as requested; however, the interviews were run separately with each participant rather than jointly. Thematic analysis was undertaken, and a constructivist lens informed both data collection and analysis. RESULTS: The analysis revealed a strong process of negotiated autonomy between people with ID and their support workers in relation to the daily management of diabetes. During times of transition, roles in relation to diabetes management were renegotiated, and the promotion of autonomy was prefaced within the context of risk and client safety. Goals to increase independence were drivers for negotiating greater autonomy. CONCLUSIONS: The successful negotiation of autonomy in relation to diabetes illustrates the potential for people with ID to play a key role in the management of long-term health conditions. The study highlights the primacy of developing decision-making skills among people with ID. Promoting opportunities for decision-making and an ethos of supported decision-making through person-centred planning are all vital in working towards enhancing autonomy.

Issues influencing the decision to have upper limb surgery for people with tetraplegia.

STUDY DESIGN: Grounded theory. OBJECTIVES: To explore to better understand the decision-making process of people with tetraplegia regarding reconstructive upper limb (UL) surgery. SETTING: New Zealand. METHODS: In-depth interviews with 22 people with tetraplegia, 10 of whom had UL surgery and 12 had not. Verbatim transcripts were analysed using constructivist grounded theory. RESULTS: The primary reason for having reconstructive UL surgery was to improve independence and return to previous pastimes. Reasons not to have surgery were hope for further recovery or cure, and inadequate physical environment or social supports while rehabilitating. In addition, women identified the temporary loss of independence and need for increased care while rehabilitating as issues. Importantly, these issues were not static, often changing in importance or relevance over time. CONCLUSIONS: The moment of making the decision for reconstructive UL surgery is elusive; therefore, multiple offers of surgery at different timeframes in an individual's life are required. In addition, flexibility in timing for surgery would allow for surgery to better coordinate with an individual's goals and priorities.

Promoting physical activity for individuals with neurological disability: indications for practice.

PURPOSE: This study explored processes that influenced involvement in recreational exercise for individuals with neurological disability, to identify strategies to promote physical activity for health and well-being in this population. METHOD: Nineteen participants (11 males and eight females), aged 20-71 years, with a range of neurological conditions and functional limitations, were recruited in one large metropolitan area in New Zealand. Individual semi-structured interviews explored participants' views, perceptions, and experiences of undertaking recreational exercise. Data were analysed for themes. RESULTS: For some individuals, recreational exercise is undertaken for its physical, psychological, or social benefits, despite the physical activity itself feeling relatively unsatisfactory. In contrast, individuals who are able to undertake their preferred choice of recreational exercise experience intense satisfaction. This motivates self-maintenance of physical activity, even for those individuals who require carer support or assistance to do so. CONCLUSIONS: This study has identified that there can be two forms of involvement in recreational exercise that allows individuals with neurological disability to become more physically active. The information could be further developed and tested in intervention studies to provide strategies for health professionals to facilitate engagement in physical activity for people with neurological disability.

Upper limb reconstructive surgery uptake for persons with tetraplegia in New Zealand: a retrospective case review 2001-2005.

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective case series. OBJECTIVE: To describe the uptake of upper limb surgery by individuals with tetraplegia in New Zealand (NZ). SETTING: New Zealand. METHODS: The clinical notes of all individuals who sustained a cervical spinal cord injury between 1 January 2001 and 31 December 2005 were retrospectively reviewed for those who met the clinical criteria to undergo upper limb surgery. Cases were cross-referenced to the hand surgery record to determine the uptake of upper limb surgery in this cohort. RESULTS: The uptake of upper limb surgery for people with tetraplegia in NZ was 44% of the eligible cohort and 59% of those assessed for surgery. This is notably higher than the reported proportion in other developed countries. The data also suggested that women and those who identified as NZ Maori were less likely to undergo upper limb surgery than were men and those of NZ European ethnicity. CONCLUSION: Utilization of upper limb surgery in the eligible tetraplegic population in NZ was high. However, it seemed that some groups were less likely to undergo surgery. Further research into the factors that affect an individual's decision to undergo upper limb surgery could explain the observed pattern.