Management of Diabetes in Adolescents at the Abidjan Diabetes Centre (CADA) : Social Roles, Medical and Social Constraints, and Non-Adherence to Treatment

This research reveals a contradiction. Despite the existence of institutional mechanisms for diabetes care in Côte d'Ivoire (specialised centres, therapeutic education, relative accessibility of insulin), diabetic adolescents monitored at the Abidjan Diabetes Centre (CADA) remain unbalanced and frequently interrupt their therapeutic follow-up. From a sociological perspective, the study seeks to understand the social processes that account for non-compliance with prescribed social roles in the daily management of the disease. It is based on a qualitative analysis conducted in Abidjan among diabetic adolescents aged 10 to 21, their parents and health professionals, using observations, interviews and documentary analysis. The results show that non-adherence to treatment is not simply a matter of ignorance of the treatment or lack of personal initiative, but rather the intertwining of cognitive, economic, institutional, social and temporal constraints. These constraints undermine the coordination of those involved in care and make it a social construct, shaped by living conditions, interactions and the organisation of roles between adolescents, families and caregivers.