“A place where I belong”: Exploring the meaning of social support among Manitoban youth living with Type 2 Diabetes through a Grounded Theory study

• Main Author: Huynh, Elizabeth
• Other Authors: Moola, Fiona (Kinesiology and Recreation Management)
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: Youth; Type 2 Diabetes; Social Support; Grounded Theory
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1993/31894

Manitoba has the highest rate of type 2 diabetes in Canada, exceeding other provinces 12-fold. Current literature has suggested that social supports are critical to the promotion and adoption of healthy living in youth living with type 2 diabetes. As such, high quality social support has been perceived as positive and can enhance youths’ resilience against life stressors. Despite this suggestion, there is little evidence on how best to support this population. The purpose of this Masters thesis was to explore the meaning of social support among Manitoban youth living with type 2 diabetes. Guided by a constructivist grounded theory approach, youth identified the following avenues of social support: family, friends, health care professionals, school and programming. Future interventionists should be aware of the vast incongruence in patients’ and physician’s perceptions of health in type 2 diabetes and design interventions accordingly. === February 2017