Diabetes Distress in Emerging Adulthood: Content Validity of the Problem Areas in Diabetes-Emerging Adult Version (PAID-EA) Using Qualitative Analysis.
Katherine Wentzell, Rebecca Vitale, Lori Laffel
PMID 35832017WHAT IT FOUND
Emerging adults with type 1 diabetes described worrying about diabetes costs, future complications, career, family, burnout, and finding support.
The PAID-EA questionnaire captured these concerns more fully than older diabetes distress and depression measures.
Key findings
01The most frequent code was worry about diabetes cost and insurance, especially around becoming financially independent and losing parental coverage at age 26.
02Daily diabetes management produced burnout, exhaustion, feeling overwhelmed, perfectionism, and feeling like a failure.
03Participants often felt unsupported and isolated, and hesitated to disclose diabetes to new people.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The sample was a convenience sample recruited through social media and email during the pandemic, so it may not represent all emerging adults with type 1 diabetes. The analysed sample was mostly White, mostly women, mostly in the United States, and many used pumps and continuous glucose monitors, with a mean self-reported A1C of 7.1%. Only 254 of 287 participants answered an open-ended question, and 33 did not answer either question. The study was cross-sectional and self-reported, so it cannot show what causes diabetes distress or how it changes over time. Themes and item matching support the questionnaire's content, but they do not show that the PAID-EA improves diabetes care or patient outcomes.
Declared interests
The article is supported by NIH extramural research funding. The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that the PAID-EA improves diabetes care or that these themes prove a treatment works. The study asked patients what they worried about and compared those answers with questionnaire items. It did not test the measure in practice or link it to outcomes.