Altered Self-Observations, Unclear Risk Perceptions and Changes in Relational Everyday Life: A Qualitative Study of Psychosocial Life with Diabetes during the COVID-19 Lockdown

Dan Grabowski, Julie Meldgaard and Morten Hulvej Rod
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Dan Grabowski: Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen, Niels Steensens Vej 6, 2820 Gentofte, Denmark
Julie Meldgaard: Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen, Niels Steensens Vej 6, 2820 Gentofte, Denmark
Morten Hulvej Rod: Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen, Niels Steensens Vej 6, 2820 Gentofte, Denmark

Societies, 2020, vol. 10, issue 3, 1-13

Abstract: When the Danish society went into COVID-19 lockdown, it dramatically changed the conditions for living with a chronic disease like diabetes. The present article highlights the psychosocial effects of this change. The dataset consists of 20 semi-structured online interviews with people with diabetes. The data were analyzed using radical hermeneutics and interpreted using Luhmann’s operative constructivist systems theory. The analysis produced three main themes: (1) people with diabetes experience altered self-observations–mainly due to society labelling them as vulnerable, (2) people with diabetes have unclear risk perceptions due to lack of concrete knowledge about the association between COVID-19 and diabetes, and (3) changes in conditions for maintaining and creating meaningful relations have a significant impact on everyday life with diabetes. These findings have important implications for risk communication. People respond in a multitude of ways to communications issued by health authorities and with close relations, and their meaning-making is shaped by, and shapes, their self-observations, risk perceptions and relational environments. This calls for more targeted communication strategies as well as increased use of peer support; the goal being to help people create meaning in their own environments.

Keywords: COVID-19; diabetes; psychosocial effects; self-observations; risk perceptions; social relations; systems theory; qualitative research (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A13 A14 P P0 P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 Z1 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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