This study aimed to explore the responses of Iranian young people with type 1 diabetes to the
diabetes-related stigma. Conventional qualitative content analysis approach guided this inquiry. Volunteered
people with type 1 diabetes were recruited by purposeful sampling from one endocrine
and metabolism center in Isfahan in 2012. Data gathering was done through 17 individual unstructured
in-depth interviews and 3 focus groups. Data saturation was achieved through 33 participants.
The data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. All participants acknowledged stigma and
responded it in different ways, which was categorized in two main categories including living in the
shadow (hide and seek, missing diabetes, withdrawal) and moving toward light (diabetes disclosure,
destruction of the false bubbles). The most response especially for girls was to live in the shadow of
silence that can be associated with negative consequences affecting diabetes management. Moving
towards the light, suggests that it is possible to help people with type-1-diabetes to achieve a normal
life as much as possible. It is necessary to plan the anti-stigma programs and engage them actively
to reduce stigma and mitigate or prevent its negative impacts