Greatest fears of type 1 and type 2 patients about having diabetes: implications for diabetes educators.

This exploratory study was undertaken to describe the differences in the greatest fears about having diabetes between type 1 and type 2 patients. Frequency distributions, measures of central tendency, and nonparametric statistics were employed to examine the traits of the sample and to make comparisons between type 1 and type 2 patients. Content analysis was used to describe and analyze the subjects' responses to the question, What is your greatest fear about having diabetes? Subjects' answers to this question were categorized and scored as representing fear of either a long-term or acute complication based on the clinical judgment of the authors. Results revealed that both type 1 and type 2 patients were likely to have given responses that were suggestive of fear of long-term complications. The major fears concerned amputation, cardiovascular disease, nephropathy, neuropathy, retinopathy, and stroke. The findings of the present investigation suggest that diabetes educators may need to address patients' fears of long-term complications directly and effectively. Several areas of research that grew out of this exploratory study were recommended for future consideration.