The aim of this study was to explore the current management of diabetes in Malta and to try to identify factors which may help improve diabetes management. Thus, this study specifically addressed the question of how diabetes was managed in Malta. The methodological approach involved reflexive Protein Tyrosine Kinase inhibitor ethnography. Carspecken’s16 five-stage method was used to collect and analyse observational and interview

data. In addition to the interviews, field notes were also made which detailed the environment in which the interview occurred and the selleck inhibitor interviewees’ reactions to the questions. A reflective journal was also kept to help the researcher to identify her own prejudices and so enable a development of an understanding of the current health care provision. Five key stakeholders were invited to participate in the study. Ethical approval was sought and obtained from the University

of Malta Research Ethics Board. Oral informed consent was also obtained from individual interviewees. Purposive sampling was used in this study. This helped to ensure

that people with a range of experiences in Malta’s national health diabetes service were included in the sample. Five individuals were interviewed in this study: a senior government advisor, two senior diabetes consultants, a diabetes nurse and a diabetic many service user. Data were collected by way of participant observation and five in-depth unstructured interviews. The interviews were conducted in the English language. All interviews were audio-taped and later transcribed. The primary approach to analysing the interviews was to listen to the tapes and write a verbatim account from the tape recordings of everything that was said during the interviews to ensure that the content was an accurate reflection of the interview. Following transcription, the data were coded and assigned to different sub-categories and categories. Three key themes emerged from the data: organisational factors, health care professional factors and patient factors. Tables 1–3 summarise categories and themes that emerged from the analysis of interviews conducted.