Protective factors in resilient South African youth with type 1 diabetes: A qualitative study

African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Protective factors in resilient South African youth with type 1 diabetes: A qualitative study
 
Creator Mabizela, Simphiwe Deacon, Elmari van Rensburg, Esme Bekker, Christiaan I.
 
Subject — adolescents; protective factors; qualitative descriptive design; resilience; self-management; type 1 diabetes; well-controlled
Description Background: Self-managing type 1 diabetes (T1D) can be challenging, especially for adolescents in a critical developmental stage. Some adolescents struggle to successfully self-manage T1D and struggle to keep it well-controlled into adulthood. Despite this concern, there is a notable lack of evidence-based research on protective factors and/or resources to support adolescents living with T1D in South Africa.Aim: This study aimed to explore and describe the protective factors of resilience among South African adolescents living with well-controlled T1D.Setting: The study was conducted at the Centre for Diabetes and Endocrinology (CDE) in Parktown, Gauteng, South Africa, a specialised facility offering comprehensive, multidisciplinary care for adolescents with T1D.Methods: A qualitative descriptive research design was used, and seven semi-structured interviews were conducted, transcribed and thematically analysed.Results: Four themes emerged from the data: Just do it: Commit to the diabetes care plan; It takes a village to raise a child living with diabetes; The silver lining of developing positive characteristics and It’s a process of continuously learning about T1D.Conclusion: Internal abilities (planning, taking responsibility, perseverance and determinism) and external resources (parents, family members, school, mentors) foster positive outcomes and adjustment for adolescents with well-controlled T1D. The potential for adolescents with T1D to use available internal abilities and external resources in managing their diabetes could be beneficial to the successful management of T1D.Contribution: The study addressed a gap in understanding protective factors involved in the successful self-management of adolescents living with well-controlled T1D in South Africa.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor
Date 2025-09-03
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — —
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/phcfm.v17i1.4935
 
Source African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine; Vol 17, No 1 (2025); 8 pages 2071-2936 2071-2928
 
Language eng
 
Relation
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/4935/8567 https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/4935/8568 https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/4935/8569 https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/4935/8570
 
Coverage — — —
Rights Copyright (c) 2025 Simphiwe Mabizela, Elmari Deacon, Esme van Rensburg, Christiaan I. Bekker https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
ADVERTISEMENT