How do people with Type 2 diabetes perceive and respond to cardiovascular risk?
Carroll C; Naylor E; Marsden P; Dornan T Department of Diabetes & Endocrinology, Hope Hospital, Salford, Manchester, UK. cb.carroll@doctors.org.uk OBJECTIVES: To explore how people with Type 2 diabetes perceive cardiovascular risk, and how those perceptions might affect their motivation to make lifestyle changes. METHODS: The setting was a diabetes clinic in a UK teaching hospital. A qualitative study was conducted, using semistructured individual interviews and template analysis of content. The participants were 20 Type 2 diabetic patients, aged between 52 and 77 years, half with and half without cardiovascular disease (CVD). RESULTS: Whether they had CVD or not, most people were aware they were at risk of it, of its causative factors, and possible effects. However, they were more likely to attribute it to unchangeable factors like ‘stress’ and ‘heredity’, than medical risk factors like cholesterol and smoking. Patients with pre-existing CVD correctly regarded their risk as higher tha
