ABSTRACT
Diabetes is a condition which is caused by the failure of the body to produce sufficient insulin to convert food eaten into energy. In the case of children or other people who develop what is known as ‘insulin-dependent diabetes’, the symptoms are likely to be weight loss, extreme thirst and a need to urinate frequently. Their condition may deteriorate rapidly. In many cases with older people who develop what is known as ‘non-insulin-dependent diabetes’ the disease is asymtomatic but its presence may be indicated by the person needing to drink excessive quantities of liquid and urinating frequently. Tiredness is also likely to be a symptom. It affects about 2 per cent of the population of England and about 70 per cent of these will have the non-insulin-dependent type of diabetes. Like many chronic illnesses, diabetes has to be managed by the patients themselves in the contexts of their everyday lives. For people with non-insulin-dependent diabetes this means controlling what they eat and, for many, taking tablets to aid the production of insulin. They are also encouraged to take exercise and to avoid becoming obese. Many diabetic people do not find this easy (Kelleher 1988) as they have other concerns in their lives which often claim priority, in their view, over managing their diabetes. Some people find it difficult to control their eating and tablet-taking because of their work situation while others find that it is difficult to eat the kind of healthy foods recommended by doctors and nurses because of the preferences of other family members. All diabetic people have to weigh up these concerns in the process of integrating the diabetic treatment regimen with the other structures of relevance (Schutz 1971) which normally shape their everyday lives.
