Purpose: To describe chronically ill adolescents' perceptions of how health professionals can best care for chronically ill adolescents.
Design: A qualitative study with tenets from grounded theory, including theoretical sampling and the constant comparison of data.
Setting: Participants' homes of private hospital offices.
Participants: Twenty-three adolescents, 13 to 16 years of age, who were diagnosed with either diabetes, asthma, arthritis, Crohn's disease, or ulcerative colitis.
Main outcome measures: Open-ended, in-depth interview method.
Results: Eight themes emerged: (1) treat me like a person; (2) try to understand; (3) don't treat me differently; (4) give me some encouragement; (5) don't force me; (6) give me options; (7) have a sense of humor; and (8) know what you are doing.
Conclusions: Health professionals need to adopt an overall approach described as careful maneuvering when caring for adolescents with chronic illness. This approach involves the health professional having sound knowledge and the ability to guide adolescents confidently and sensitively in the management of their illness.