Endocrinologists' Perspectives on Early Screening for Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy: A Phenomenological Study in Four Chinese Based Hospitals

Purpose

This study aims to explore endocrinologists' awareness and current practices regarding early screening for diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN), and to further analyze their experiences, barriers, and potential optimization strategies in implementing DPN screening within clinical practice. Patients and methods: Methods: A qualitative study based on Husserl's phenomenological framework was conducted. Twelve endocrinologists (3 male, 9 female; age range 29-47 years; clinical experience 3-23 years) from four tertiary hospitals in China were recruited via purposive sampling. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were used. This phenomenological approach was chosen to explore the lived experiences and subjective perceptions of physicians regarding DPN screening, as quantitative methods cannot capture such contextual richness. Data were analyzed using NVivo 20.0 with Colaizzi's seven-step method.