2020 Volume 24 Issue 2 Pages 181-190
This study aims to describe the structure of the "knowing what to do but can't" phenomenon in patients with type 2 diabetes. We analyzed mentality transformation in 11 patients by the modified grounded theory approach. The structure of this phenomenon was described as follows: it began with the stage [afflicted by one's hunger-sensitive body], went through the stages of [having developed medical experience through one's lifestyle], [no longer feeling one's body as being normal] and <always feeling weakness of will>, then coming to the turning point of [unable to tell if one's dietary therapy is unsuccessful due to one's own inadequate execution, or if one cannot be successful due to reduced physical abilities], finally reaching the stage of [coping with "cannot be successful due to reduced physical abilities" situations through patience].
These results suggest that it is important to focus on diabetic patients' bodily sensations when they say "I cannot do it."
Medical staff must understand that patients are not confident in their physical sensations, and therefore need to distinguish between situations where they are unsuccessful due to their own inadequate execution and situations where they cannot be successful due to their reduced physical abilities.
