Mothers' Experiences of Maze Path of Type 1 Diabetes Diagnosis in Children

BACKGROUND: Incidence of diabetes Type 1 in children with non-classic symptoms is one of the reasons for the delay in their follow-up. Failure in its diagnosis by the health professional exposes the mothers to many challenges. This study was conducted to explore mothers' experiences in the diagnosis pathway of diabetes Type 1 in children. METHODS: Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with fifteen mothers of children with Type 1 diabetes. they were selected by the purposefull sampling method. Their child had a medical file in diabetes centers in Kerman, Iran, at least one year has passed of diabetes diagnosis in their child and the maximum age of the child is 14 years. Data were analyzed using content analysis. Three themes and nine sub-themes emerged during data analysis. RESULTS: The extracted themes included “presence in the maze path to the child's disease”, “facing the reality of the child's disease”, and “to grin and bear with new conditions”. CONCLUSIONS: According to the finding, these mothers experienced various challenges. Therefore, identification of these challenges by health professionals to prevent and decrease of Them, is necessary.