Purpose

     Insulin is essential to a diabetic because it is how they are able to continue living with diabetes. Without insulin, it would be challenging to maintain a reasonable blood sugar to have a properly functioning body. The high prices of the vials of insulin hurt families financially. In Illinois alone, approximately 4.8 million households are struggling financially to afford their basic needs (Rockett). Adding insulin prices on top of that hurts the families even more financially but they need the insulin to continue to live. Many sacrifices have to be made in these families in order to afford the overpriced insulin. The purpose of this study is to understand and become aware of how these families and diabetics, in Illinois, struggle and how they adjust their lifestyle in order to make it to buy the next vial of insulin or their next dose of medication. Discovering reasons why diabetics limit the amount of insulin they give themselves and how they alter their lives to accommodate for the expensive vial(s).

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