La Vita Dulce: Assessing the Health Related Quality of Life of Individuals with Type I Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract

This study aims to discover the concept of quality of life of individuals with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus and how they come to form this concept. A structured questionnaire, the Diabetes 39, was administered to thirty men and women, aged 18 years old and onwards who were clinically diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus. The questionnaire covered 7 domains: Diabetes Control, Social Burden, Sexual Functioning, Energy and Mobility; Anxiety and Worry, Severity of Diabetes and Quality of Life. Four respondents were chosen to participate in in-depth interviews. Frequencies, cross-tabulations, and Pearson product moment correlations were done for the quantitative part of the study and analysis was done for the respondents' interviews. Results revealed that majority of ‘he respondents had rated their quality of iife as average. The domains of Diabetes control, Social Burden, and Energy and Mobility somewhat affected their perception of their quality of life while the domain of Anxiety and Worry negatively affected their quality of life the most. This study concludes that individuals with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus have different perceptions of their quality of life and of the different factors that affect this quality of life.