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Diabetes Self-Management: Patient Cognition And The Development Of Expertise, Katherine D. Lippa

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Expert decision making has been widely researched among professionals, but non-professionals make many equally complex decisions. This study uses the case of type II diabetes to explore complex decision making among non-professionals. It was hypothesized that three cognitive aspects of expertise, problem detection, functional relationships, and problem solving, would be linked with higher levels of self-management (higher adherence and lower glucose). Twenty participants with diabetes were interviewed concerning their knowledge and experiences with diabetes. Participants also completed a questionnaire concerning their self-management practices. Interviews were transcribed and thematically coded. Participants who displayed characteristics of expert cognition reported higher levels of …