all of the experiences of all diabetic adolescents.
The sample selected for this study will be from an available volunteer population; therefore, results of this research may not be generalizable to individuals in other geographical locations. A small sample size is an additional study limitation. Since the study is qualitative in nature and lacks quantitative data for analysis, findings are descriptive in nature.
For this study it is assumed that the participants are experienced with living with diabetes. Accuracy of self-reporting is also assumed.
Inclusion criteria for this study are as follows: diagnosis of diabetes for at least one year; and 14 to 18 years of age.
The findings from this study will provide a more comprehensive understanding of adolescents with diabetes seeking clinical management from Nurse Practitioners and other health professionals. This information is also needed to help guide future directions for research and treatment of this group.
The phenomenological approach allows for an investigation into the lived experience of an individual. The everyday lived experience reflects an individual's world as they experience it and an investigation into this lived experience allows the researcher to more fully understand a phenomenon. Each individual has a life world and the qualitative researcher using the phenomenological approach tries to identify and reflect upon the life world of the individual as it is presented. This process begins by identifying the nature of the lived experience and formulating the phenomenological question. The researcher then seeks data to answer that question. One-on-one interviews allow for the gathering of this qualitative information.
The phenomenological research approach will be used for this study. This approach begins with formulating the phenomenological question; the researcher asks: What is the lived experience that the researcher is attempting ...