Veterans’ Interpretation of Diabetes Distress in Diabetes Self-Management: Findings From Cognitive Interviews

Purpose The purpose of this project was to identify additional facets of diabetes distress (DD) in veterans that may be present due to the veteran’s military-related experience. Methods The study team completed cognitive interviews with veterans with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) to examine how they answered the Diabetes Distress Scale (DD Scale), a tool that assesses DD. The DD Scale was used because of its strong associations with self-management challenges, physician-related distress, and clinical outcomes. Results The veterans sample (n= 15) was 73% male, mean age of 61 (SD = 8.6), 53% Black, 53% with glycosylated hemoglobin level Conclusions This study describes how a veteran’s military experience may contribute to DD in the context of T2DM self-management. Findings indicate clinicians and researchers should account for additional domains when developing self-management interventions and discussing self-management behaviors with individuals with T2DM.