Background: Type 2 diabetes is a chronic disease that vigorously increases worldwide. The disease can affect the entire everyday life which usually results in major lifestyle change. The treatment consists largely of self care which the patient itself has great responsibility for. The nurses have an important role in supporting, guiding and teaching the patients. Since every patient is unique the nurse would benefit from an increased knowledge about the patients experiences of what promotes and prevents self care in type 2 diabetes.

Aim: The aim was, from a patient perspective, describe the experience of what promotes and prevents a self care in type 2 diabetes.

Methods: A literature review based on nine scientific articles gathered from the databases CINAHL plus with full text, PubMed and Medline. The articles were analyzed and common denominators were identified and themes created.

Results: The patients promoting and preventing experiences were presented in two main themes with associated subthemes. To live with type 2 diabetes enlightes the patients experiences of personal perception, integration, driving force and interact with the surroundings. To meet healthcare illustrated the patients experiences of the caregivers supporting and informative role.

Discussions: This study's results are discussed, developed and strengthened with other scientific studies, Dorothea E. Orem´s theory of self care, this study´s background and the author´s own reflections. It is revealed that no patient is the other alike and they should be treated as the unique individuals they are to enable the self care to be integrated in their life.

Keywords: Diabetes mellitus type 2, self care, experience and patient