Table 4.

Responses to spousal support and suggestions for good spousal support

		Number of comments
		Patients		Spouses
Theme	Verbatim Example	M	F	M	F
Support/Advice not listened to	“Even though I tell him all the time, men are very stubborn. I told him not to eat sweets but he likes to eat melted sugar. He adds a lot of sugar to his coffee. He doesn’t eat what I give. I just let him be, what can I do?”	1	0	1	12
	“I get angry if my husband doesn’t listen. So he tries to regulate since I nag all the time”
Differences in spousal support style/support should be individualized	“I don’t do anything special other than cereal rice. Doing it [self-care] himself is better than anyone else doing it for him. He has to have the will and do it himself. If the woman nags, he doesn’t want to do it. Men are like that. So I let him do things on his own. His glucose level is under control and it’s been going well so far.”	6	3	9	13
	“It’s up to the patient. Personality. Some people don’t want to hear them nag so do worse while some people are more careful after being enlightened.”
Diabetes care is teamwork between husband and wife	“Someone I know, his wife has diabetes and he eats ice cream next to her. When she asks for it, he refuses, but that is not good teamwork. It would be ok if he ate somewhere else.”	1	1	3	8
	“You have to do it together because for example, when one doesn’t want to walk, the other supports. So even if you are forced to go, it’s beneficial.”

Note. M = Male; F = Female