Community Health Diabetes Paper
Community Health – Diabetes Paper
Community Health – Diabetes Paper
Samantha M. Tallarine
Capella University
BSN-FP4014
Global Perspectives of Community and Public Service
June, 2019
Community Health – Diabetes
Diabetes is a disease that affects a large portion of the population, especially the elderly. This is a disease described by high levels of glucose or blood sugar. The glucose in the body comes from the food that we eat every day. Insulin is a hormone that makes it possible for glucose to get into the body cells and give them the energy that enables an individual to perform different duties. Type 1 Diabetes indicates that the body is physically unable to make insulin. On the other hand, in an individual with Type 2 Diabetes, which is the most common type, the body is not able to utilize the insulin secreted from the pancreas.
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Without enough insulin in the body, glucose stays in the blood. Too much glucose in the blood system can cause some severe health issues such as vision problems, kidney failure, and nerve damage. There are many people who are not able to discover their diabetic conditions until it is in its final stages. In this paper, we are going to discuss the occurrence of diabetes in California, the burden that comes with it and how the government and the healthcare department are working around the clock to reduce the rate of diabetes.
Diabetes in California
Type 2 Diabetes can be developed at any stage in life. However, most people who have it range from middle age to the older adult. Risk factors include age over 45, a familial history of diabetes, and when one is obese or overweight. In the United States, black adults are more likely to have type 2 Diabetes in comparison with their white counterparts. Almost half of the adult population in California is diabetic. This includes every one person out of three young people who live there are either pre-diabetic or already have type 2 diabetes and not yet diagnosed. According to the study conducted, there is an alarming insight into California’s future when it comes to the rate of diabetes. The study was done by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and came out with results and they are as follows; it was discovered that an estimate of 13 million adults in California are diabetic. 46% of them are undiagnosed or have prediabetes. 2.5 million Which is equivalent to 9 percent of the adult population are already diagnosed. When the two groups are combined they represent 15.5 million people, which is an estimate of 55 percent of the state’s population. Because diabetes is found in older people, the study was able to indicate that 33% of young adults who are aged between 18 and 39 have prediabetes which means that they are not aware of their diabetic condition (Hawley & McGarvey, 2015).
According to the study above, it is a clear, that to date, diabetes is an epidemic and is affecting most people in many countries daily. There is limited accessibility to healthy foods in low-income communities, most people can only access soda and junk food in the markets and other neighboring urban centers, thus most people are prone to be obese and overweight, which is a contributing factor to diabetes (Berkowitz et al., 2014).
Prevention of Diabetes is Possible
Diabetes is a condition that can be put under control and be prevented. Most people are victims of prediabetes, which is a condition where glucose levels are higher than normal but their hemoglobin A1C is not elevated enough to be in a state where they can be diagnosed as diabetic. Within a period of 5 years, 30% of people with prediabetes are more likely to advance to being type 2 diabetic and 70% among them are at a high risk of developing diabetes in their lifetime (Sudore et al., 2012).
In the United States, diabetes is considered a chronic disease, which is very costly for the citizens and the government. In California, the rate of diabetes has increased by 35% since the year 2001. In a year, the amount of money spent on medication for people with diabetes is twice as high as that of the people who do not have diabetes. For example, an individual who has been diagnosed with diabetes around the age of 42 years, the money spent on medication can be approximately $124,600 compared to someone who has not been diagnosed with it (Sudore et al., 2012). There is a need for prediabetic people to participate in National Diabetes Prevention programs to prevent more cases of diabetes. There is also a need for the government to come up with policies and other necessary changes that will make it possible to increase the rate of screening and preventive measures and go ahead into encouraging people to adopt healthy living and active lifestyles in their daily dealings. Providing alternative ways of acquiring healthy foods at a subsidized price is important for low-income communities.
Actions Taken Towards Prevention of Diabetes in California
Studies have indicated that losing weight can control Type 2 Diabetes. This means that one has to engage in physical exercises in all its forms and change the foods that they eat. Choosing a healthy lifestyle has been shown to reduce the rate of diabetes by 58 percent among the people who are at a higher risk of contracting it (Sepah et al., 2014). The legislature can be involved in passing measures that will focus on reducing the rate of sweeteners added in beverages, which are a contributing factor to increase in calories among children. The target is not only on sodas, but also on other sugary drinks that are assumed to be healthy such as juices, sports drinks, and enriched water. These drinks are specifically targeted at children, so there needs to be education sessions for children and their parents on how to have a balanced and healthy diet.
Contribution of Nurses on Diabetes
The main task of a nurse in any healthcare unit is to make sure that the patient receives the required medical attention and optimal care. They are able to detect and make sure the necessary precautions are taken to prevent diabetes before it gets out of control. There are specific practitioners that have basic knowledge of oral therapy and insulin and due to this, they are able to advise the patient on when to take treatment and which type of treatment is suitable for them. This makes it possible for the patient to receive quality services that make it possible for them to manage their illnesses and thus avoid chronic conditions that may lead them to be admitted in the hospital down the road. An increase in diabetes patients leads to a strain in the resources and services available to deal with the disease (Tuso, 2014).
There is a need for leaders and other non-governmental organizations to join hands and make sure that they are able to deal with diabetes, which has become a national epidemic. The individual effort toward living a healthy life is an important thing. Families should make it a personal goal to live a healthy life. There is a need for beverage manufacturing industries to make sure that they have been able to provide beverages with low sugar content for people to incorporate healthy food choices into their daily dealings. Education and other important services should be provided to individuals to make it possible for them to know the ways that can be used to prevent and put under control diabetes and its effects.
Resources
Berkowitz, S. A., Karter, A. J., Lyles, C. R., Liu, J. Y., Schillinger, D., Adler, N. E., … & Sarkar, U. (2014). Low socioeconomic status is associated with increased risk for hypoglycemia in diabetes patients: the Diabetes Study of Northern California (DISTANCE). Journal of health care for the poor and underserved, 25(2), 478.
Hawley, N. L., & McGarvey, S. T. (2015). Obesity and diabetes in Pacific Islanders: the current burden and the need for urgent action. Current diabetes reports, 15(5), 29. http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/majority-of-california-adults-have-prediabetes-or-diabetes
Sepah, S. C., Jiang, L., & Peters, A. L. (2014). Translating the diabetes prevention program into an online social network: validation against CDC standards. The Diabetes educator, 40(4), 435-443.
Sudore, R. L., Karter, A. J., Huang, E. S., Moffet, H. H., Laiteerapong, N., Schenker, Y., … & John, P. M. (2012). Symptom burden of adults with type 2 diabetes across the disease course: Diabetes & Aging Study. Journal of general internal medicine, 27(12), 1674-1681.
Tuso, P. (2014). Prediabetes and lifestyle modification: time to prevent a preventable disease. The Permanente Journal, 18(3), 88.
Community Health – Diabetes Paper
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