Calidad en el control de la diabetes mellitus en unidades de atención primaria de México. Un estudio desde la perspectiva de la familia de los pacientes

OBJECTIVE: To identify the perspectives of the patient's family in the quality of diabetes mellitus control. DESIGN: Qualitative methodology of exploratory design, oriented towards health services research, conducted in 2014 using non-probability sampling. LOCATION: Primary Care Units mainly situated in the state of Tabasco, Mexico. PARTICIPANTS AND/OR CONTEXTS: 42 family members were selected, who agreed to participate voluntarily in the study. METHOD: Six focus groups were set up; interview guides and group dynamics were employed. The information was documented, saturated and categorised; the most representative discourses were used, and conclusions reached. RESULTS: The results show a highly critical position of the families as regards the patient, some of which appear justified, and others have a cultural, historical, and to some extent, an ignorance connotation. They have also commented on the health care and the role that patients and families can play, in both cases, also expressed critically. CONCLUSIONS: The family perspectives reveal what they think and feel about diabetes mellitus. It is important to note their lack of support and the content of their expressions due to lack of knowledge of the disease. Their discourses are critical, mythical, and with false beliefs of the fear of being future carriers of the disease. They feel sorry for the patient but they resist taking care of them, and do not want a life with diabetes. The family is the closest support for patients and an invaluable human resource for health services.