'Looking for the needle in the haystack': a qualitative study of the pathway to diagnosis of type 1 diabetes in children.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To explore the pathway to diagnosis of type 1 diabetes (T1D) in children from the perspective of the child, family and general practitioner (GP).

Design

Qualitative interview study.

Participants

Parents of children aged 1 month to 16 years diagnosed with new onset T1D within the previous 3 months, children over 6 years diagnosed with new onset T1D within the previous 3 months and GPs who saw those children prior to diagnosis.

Setting

Children and parents were identified and recruited from two hospitals within the East of England.

Results

The parents of 16 children (2-16 years) were interviewed. The total interval from onset of symptoms to diagnosis ranged from 6 to 127 days. The appraisal interval was the longest for almost all children and the

SUBMITTER: Usher-Smith JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3855567 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature