A qualitative study exploring diabetes resilience among adults with regulated type 2 diabetes mellitus

Background and aims: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients often experience unregulated blood glucose due to the lack of resilience. The aim of this study was to explore diabetes resilience among adults with regulated T2DM. Methods: This study used a qualitative case study design. A total of 15 participants with T2DM were recruited through snowball sampling. The study was conducted in four Health Primary Centers in Surabaya, Indonesia. The indicators of diabetes resilience were proper management of diet, activity, stress, and drugs. Interview guidelines were used to collect the data through in-depth interviews. The data were subjected to thematic analysis. Results: In this study, the results identified four themes, namely, resilient, support, benefits, and self-care agency. These themes were found among the participants with a resilient condition and regulated blood glucose. Conclusions: Resilient, support, benefits, and self-care agency are the themes for achieving diabetes resilience by adults with T2DM. Policymakers and health workers need to consider health interventions for increasing the resilience of T2DM patients so that they can achieve a better glycemic control condition, and manage their diet, medication, activity and stress properly.