Objective. To understand how individuals with diabetes evaluate
the participation of their family in their health care. Methods. This
was a descriptive study with a qualitative approach involving 26
individuals in the Diabetes Association of Maringá. Participating
in the study were 9 women and 17 men (age range, 38 to 83
years) who had attended at least one educational meeting of the
“culture circles” of the association. We used the methodological
reference of Paulo Freire for implementing an educational proposal
directed at persons with type 2 diabetes mellitus that overcame
the limitations of conventional health education approaches. Data
were collected between May and July 2011