Experiences Faced by Diabetic Teenagers of Diepkloof Soweto: A Systematic Review

Background: Diabetes is a metabolic disorder which presents itself with symptoms such as blurry vision, thirst and weight loss. It is a disease that is more common in childhood whereby the body cannot produce enough insulin. Objectives: To explore the challenges experienced by diabetic teenagers. Results: Checking of sugar levels and injecting of insulin was indicated as one of the major difficulties the teenagers face. Findings demonstrated that they feel abnormal and not part of their peers when they have to check their insulin and inject frequently. Methods: Various literatures from electronic database and manuals were used. The literature review was followed by in-depth semi structured interviews to document the experiences of the diabetic teenagers. Conclusion: Findings demonstrated challenges encountered by diabetic teenagers which affected their adherence to treatment. Some of the challenges were injecting insulin into their body system and further checking the level of sugar in the blood stream. Some teenagers also reported the dislike to gaining weight as they omit insulin intake in order to conform to a certain body shape. Empower the teenagers in regard to embracing their condition so that they can adhere successfully to the treatment without any relapse in order to avoid readmissions at the hospital.