Gary – Interview 39
Gary and his son agreed to take part in a randomised trial on the management of diabetes in young people. Gary and his son were randomised to continue to receive the current information and care.
Gary, aged 47, is married with two children and works part-time. His son aged 13 years was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 4. Recently Gary and his wife agreed with their son to take part in a randomised trial on the management of diabetes in young people.
They were invited to take part by a research nurse when attending a routine clinic appointment. The nurse briefly explained what would be involved if they took part and the purpose of the study. Because there was nothing invasive about it they agreed. They all felt that by taking part would help other diabetic children.
The study involved the completion a series of questionnaires; one for Gary and his wife to complete as parents and one for his son. The questionnaires were sent to their home address and they returned the completed questionnaire back to the research team, using the pre-paid envelopes provided. The questionnaires took approximately 30 minutes to complete and were fairly straight forward with multiple-choice answers. The questions were about their son and how they felt he managed his diabetes at home and at school.
Gary doesn’t remember how many questionnaires he completed, although he thinks it was two or three in total. Gary said that he was surprised at how taking part in the trial had helped in son understand more about his diabetes. However, he would like to know the results of the trial and is unsure if they will receive any feedback from the trial team.