Health state and representations about the disease from the perspective of patients with diabetes mellitus

Abstract

Objective: evaluating the health status and its dimensions in patients with Diabetes Mellitus treated in a teaching hospital in the light of the Commonsense Model. Method: a descriptive study with qualitative analysis of the data. Participated twenty patients hospitalized and in outpatient care. The data were submitted to content analysis and interpreted according to the concepts of the Commonsense Model. Results: the discourses were categorized according to the identity of the disease and its concepts; duration and time for diagnosis and symptoms; causes of the disease and its explanations; consequences and treatment; control and perceptions about prognosis. Final Considerations: the concepts of health status and its dimensions related to Diabetes Mellitus interpreted in the light of the Commonsense Model described it as a disease with physical signs and potential for complication, even associated with death; however, they also revealed ignorance of the real causes and consequences of the disease.