Diabetes care and mental illness: the social organization of food in a residential care facility.

Objective: To explore the social organization of food provision and dietary intake in seriously mentally ill people with diabetes who reside in a for-profit group home.

Methods: Institutional ethnography was used to explore diabetes-related care practices among 26 women in a rural residential care facility in southern Ontario. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with residents with diabetes, care providers, field workers, and health professionals.