Spanish 
Chinese 
Russian 
German 
French 
Japanese 
Portuguese 
Hindi Research Article
The Experience of Mexican-Americans Transitioning to Insulin Pump Technology
Emily F Piven1* Homer Nazeran21Health Matters First of Florida Inc., USA
2Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Texas at El Paso, USA
- Corresponding Author:
- Emily F Piven
Health Matters First of Florida, Inc. P.O. Box 64
Oakland, Florida 34760, USA
Tel: (915) 203-0718
Fax: (407) 656-1081
E-mail: emilyh@utep.edu
Received Date: June 11, 2013; Accepted Date: July 01, 2013; Published Date: July 03, 2013
Citation: Piven EF, Nazeran H (2013) The Experience of Mexican-Americans Transitioning to Insulin Pump Technology. J Community Med Health Educ 3:222. doi: 10.4172/2161-0711.1000222
Copyright: © 2013 Piven EF, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Occupational therapists help people of all ages do the things they need or want to do through therapeutic activities that constitute everyday occupations. They are interested in how people adapt to disease or illness in performance of all activities of daily living in self-care, work, education, leisure, play, and social participation. This study was undertaken as there was a paucity of literature about how people make adjustments to living with technology (biomedical device), which provides provides continuous subcutaneous insulin-infusion therapy (also called the insulin pump), and as there was no research about how difficult the process may be for Latinos. The aim of this pilot study was to explore the life experience of Mexican-Americans with type 1 diabetes mellitus, who transitioned from multiple daily insulin injections to using continuous subcutaneous insulin-infusion therapy (also called the insulin pump) to manage their conditions. This exploratory, qualitative research study had a convenience sample of three females and three males from 28 to 55 years old. Themes were: 1) Easy for one yet hard for another; 2) Feels like starting over; 3) High expectations: The magical pump; and 4) Self-perception redefined. Conclusion: Insights about the cultural attitudes, beliefs and experience of Mexican- Americans transitioning to the insulin pump may assist health professionals to prioritize their initial concerns when helping patients deal with this technology. Referrals to occupational therapists should be considered to help Mexican-Americans deal with psychosocial issues that arise, for facilitation of problem-solving and coping skills in order to manage self-care issues is recommended.
