Table 2.

Characteristics of included studies

Study ID	Aim	Year of publication	Location of study	Participants (n)	Participant age	Participant sex	Time with diabetes	Data collection method	Outcomes identified (n)
42	Explore behavioral factors affecting what patients do for self-care and why they do it.	1998	USA	51	29–69 years (mean=52.9)	Male: 26 (51%), female: 25 (49%)	0.5–1 year: 4 (8%), 1–5 years: 20 (39%), >6 years: 27 (53%)	Interviews	24
44	Investigate the distress associated with type 2 diabetes.	2002	UK	51	Not reported	Male: 19 (37%), female: 32 (63%)	Not reported	Focus groups	16
60	Explore the views and health beliefs of patients who had experienced a new structured diabetes shared care service.	2003	Ireland	25	30–50 years: 6 (24%); 51–70 years: 13 (52%); >70 years: 6 (24%)	Male: 15 (60%), female: 10 (40%)	Not reported	Focus groups	10
58	Describe personal understandings of illness among patients.	2004	Sweden	44	47–80 years (mean=64)	Male: 23 (52%), female: 21 (48%)	Not reported	Interviews	5
39	Explore the relevance of a reframed model of healthcare consultation.	2004	UK	21	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported	Interviews	21
45	Investigate patients’ perceptions about their illness and treatment strategies to facilitate patient-centered, culture-sensitive clinical skills.	2005	Taiwan	22	44–80 years (mean=60.2)	Male: 12 (55%), female: 10 (45%)	2–25 years (mean=8.3)	Interviews	12
46	Explore the self-reported healthcare goals, factors influencing these goals, and self-care practices of older patients.	2005	USA	28	65–88 years (mean=74)	Male: 12 (43%), female: 16 (57%)	0–5 years: 11 (39%), >5 to 10 years: 6 (21%), >10 years: 11 (39%)	Interviews	15
47	Explore medication experiences of patients.	2006	USA	138	>70 years: 30 (22%), >50 years: 102 (74%)	Male: 44 (32%), female: 94 (68%)	Mean=13 years	Focus groups	31
48	Identify the obstacles to adherence for patients.	2007	Europe	246	40–80 years (mean=63.8)	Male: 122 (49.6%), female: 124 (49.4%)	1–22 years (mean=10.2)	Focus groups	16
61	Describe the experience of benefit and risk assessment for patients when making treatment decisions.	2007	Canada	18	Mean=60 years	Male: 8 (44%), female: 10 (55%)	Mean=10.7 years	Interviews	29
49	Explore the lived experience of patients converting to insulin therapy.	2007	UK	8	49–72 years	Male: 4 (50%), female: 4 (50%)	Not reported	Interviews	25
50	Understand and document the perspectives of patients regarding the processes and strategies used to self-manage their chronic condition.	2008	Taiwan	41	42–81 years	Male: 22 (54%), female: 19 (46%)	Mean=9.19 years	Focus groups	27
38	Describe cultural and family challenges to illness management in foreign-born Chinese-American patients and their spouses.	2009	USA	40 (20 patients, 20 partners)	Mean=62 years	Male: 16 (40%), female: 24 (60%)	Mean=8.4 years	Interviews	12
51	Explore how women manage their diabetes.	2009	USA	5	50–85 years (mean=70.4)	Female: 5 (100%)	1–18 years (mean=8)	Interviews	16
62	Explore how living with diabetes in everyday life was experienced following a self-management intervention program based on motivational interviewing.	2011	Denmark	22	30–72 years	Male: 10 (45%), female: 12 (55%)	1–11 years	Focus groups	10
43	Explore physicians’ and patients’ views of patients’ difficulty achieving treatment goals.	2012	USA	34 patients, 19 physicians*	43–70 years (mean=59.8)	Male: 20 (59%), female: 14 (41%)	3–51 years (mean=12)	Interviews	10
41	Assess self-management skills of Chinese-Americans.	2012	USA	24 (7 poorly controlled, 17 well controlled)	Poorly controlled: mean=56 years, well controlled: mean=60.6 years	Poorly controlled—male: 3 (43%), female: 4 (57%); well controlled—male: 13 (76%), female: 2 (12%), NA: 2 (12%)	Poorly controlled: mean=6.4 years; well controlled: mean=6 years	Focus groups	11
52	Describe the experiences and ways of coping of older Singaporean Chinese women.	2013	Singapore	10	60–69 years	Female: 10 (100%)	Not reported	Interviews	26
53	Explore the concept of patient values in the context of making decisions about insulin initiation.	2013	Malaysia	21	28–67 years	Male: 12 (57%), female: 9 (43%)	Not reported	Interviews	19
37	Gain a deeper understanding of the difficulties Vietnamese patients experience when accessing services and managing their diabetes.	2013	Australia	15	60 to >70 years: 15 (100%), >70 years: 11 (73%)	Male: 4 (27%), female: 11 (73%)	>1 year: 6, >5 years: 9	Focus groups	24
54	Better understand barriers to glycemic control from the patient’s perspective.	2013	New Zealand	15	33–90 years (mean=63.3)	Male: 5 (33%), female: 10 (67%)	2–30 years (mean=44.3)	Interviews	10
55	Explore the barriers to diabetes control of middle-aged women.	2013	Syria	12	40–65 years	Female: 12 (100%)	4–23 years	Interviews	21
40	Identify issues in self-management, and opportunities for community pharmacies to offer self-management support to these populations.	2013	Australia	24	54–95 years (mean=73)	Male: 10 (42%), female: 14 (58%)	<5 years: 2, 6–10 years: 8, >10 years: 14	Interviews	14
56	Explore patients’ reactions to the diagnosis and their health-related quality of life.	2014	Malaysia	12	50–62 years	Male: 5 (42%), female: 7 (58%)	2.5–21 years	Interviews	32
57	Explore the illness perceptions of patients attending treatment and better understand how they manage their illness.	2016	Ethiopia	39	>70 years: 30	Male: 20 (51%), female: 19 (49%)	1–25 years	Interviews	31
59	Investigate patients’ perceptions and experiences, self-care and engagement with GP-led integrated diabetes care.	2016	Australia	30	<50 to >65 years (mean=60.2)	Male: 16 (53%), female: 14 (47%)	Mean=12 years	Interviews	6

*Data not included in synthesis.

GP, general practitioner; NA, not applicable.