Challenges and Strategies for Recruiting Type 1 Diabetes Families in Kuwait with Strong Beliefs in Familism

Abstract

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is one of the most common endocrine and metabolic conditions in children. In fact, this disease in children and adolescents has been increasing exponentially, with Kuwait being ranked second highest in the world regarding the number of T1D incidences. Kuwait is an oil-rich country known for its strong sense of familism, affiliative obedience, and filial obligation. Therefore, a familial study of this disease may disclose certain causative agents responsible for passing the disease on to subsequent generations.\n\nTo recruit T1D patients and their family members, three different scenarios were developed. First, since Kuwaiti families are generally obedient to their doctors, the authors decided to recruit the patients through their endocrine physicians. Second, home visits were performed for meeting the families requirements. In this case, a team consisting of one nurse, two phlebotomists (a male and a female, since some refused to be seen by the opposite gender), and a driver of the institutes car was arranged. Finally, two diabetes educators were employed to resolve any issues raised during the recruitment process. Utilizing these approaches helped convince the culturally and religiously oriented Kuwaiti families to participate in this study. In this case, the doctors and educators were not only aware of the obstacles in this population but also sensitive to the families beliefs. This paper reports on our experience in recruitment and presents a roadmap for any future familial studies on culturally tailored societies i.e. Arab populations.