Successful management of diabetes requires that we
understand the lifestyle, beliefs, attitudes, and family
and social networks of the patients being treated. 1
Qualitative methods are particularly useful when the
subject of research is relatively unexplored and the
research question is loosely defined or open ended. 2
With two recently published exceptions 3 4 and a small
British study based entirely on individual interviews,5
such methods have rarely been used in the study of
diabetes.