OBJECTIVE: To investigate perceptions of control among people with uncontrolled and well controlled type 2 diabetes (T2D) treated with basal insulin, as well as differences in perceptions and diabetes management practices between the two groups.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Web surveys of 1012 people with uncontrolled T2D (HbA1c >8.0% or 64 mmol/mol) on basal insulin in Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK and 295 people with well controlled T2D (HbA1c <7.5% or 58 mmol/mol) on basal insulin in the UK were conducted.

RESULTS: People with uncontrolled T2D perceived a wide range of factors as very/extremely important for deciding whether they are well controlled, including diet (80.7%), HbA1c value (78.9%), times per day insulin taken (78.8%), insulin units taken per day (77.6%), and energy levels (74.5%). Fifty-one percent of uncontrolled respondents considered the past week or more recently when thinking about control. Perceived major obstacles to control included stress (75.4%), other health issues (70.8%), medicine side effects (69.9%), food cravings (69.8%), doctor not understanding individual situation (67.6%), and life crises (66.9%). Many uncontrolled respondents reported that diabetes was very/extremely interfering with their lives, including energy level (71.0%), performance at work (70.0%), general health (69.9%), and doing what one wants (69.3%). Analyses showed significant differences between well controlled and uncontrolled UK respondents. Compared to the uncontrolled, people with well controlled T2D were significantly more likely to consider the last 24 hours/current time when thinking about control (50% vs. 21%, p < 0.001) and reported greater healthcare contact related to diabetes and more frequent glucose measurement. Study limits include potential selection bias of web surveys and possible recall bias in patient-reported data.

CONCLUSIONS: The results illuminate how people with T2D treated with basal insulin perceive control and show important differences between the well controlled and uncontrolled. Findings may have implications for improving patient and physician education and diabetes management.