Patients’ experiences with diabetic foot ulceration – a thematic analysis

Introduction:
The aim of the qualitative study was to explore individual life experiences of patients with diabetic foot ulceration (DFU) and explore its impact in their daily living.

Material and methods:
The study used a purposive sampling method, where there were eight participants with diabetes mellitus type 2 and currently present DFU. A descriptive qualitative study was used for the thematic analysis of the experiences of patients with DFU. According to Braun and Clark thematic analysis is a flexible method to identify and analyze themes in data. Data collection was carried out through semi-structured interviews.

Results:
After thoroughly familiarizing ourselves with the data, 121 codes were generated. Based on the similarity of the individual codes, 12 subthemes were identified. These subthemes were then grouped according to their meaningful connections and similarities, resulting in the establishment of four main themes: Life and Diabetic Foot Ulceration, Causes and Symptoms, Emotional Experience, and Quality of Social Life and Relationships.

Conclusions:
The life experiences of diabetics with DFU uncovered an impact on physical and psychosocial functioning of diabetics, pointed out what can support the treatment process or what needs to be taken into account in order to eliminate unwanted effects. The patients recognized their own role and acknowledged issues with wrong self-management of their diabetes. They would like to change their lives, what gives an opportunity for professionals to leverage this potential to promote lifestyle changes and engage patient´s self-care and support intervention in diabetic reulceration.