Essay Sample on Diabetes and Its Relationship to the Health of the American Public.

Diabetes is a severe non-communicable that has been affecting most people across the globe. Diabetes occurs particularly when the pancreas fails to produce adequate body insulin or when the human body fails to effectively utilize the produced insulin. According to the CDC, approximately 34 million Americans have diabetes; however, only approximately 26.8 million Americans have been diagnosed with diabetes cases, while approximately 7.3 million Americans are yet to be diagnosed (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). The survey also found that the diabetes cases were well distributed across all ethnic, social, and economic backgrounds. Diabetes is also mainly associated with other health complications that are increasing across the country, such as stroke kidney failure, heart disease, and blindness. The increasing number of diabetes cases and complications have also been linked to the increasing number of hospitalizations and deaths across the country. A survey on hospitalizations in the United States found out that in 2016, approximately 7.8 million patients had been hospitalized and diagnosed with diabetes (Bullard et al., 2018). The study also found that in the year 2017, diabetes was the seventh cause of death in the year 2017, with approximately 83564 deaths (Bullard et al., 2018). The main rationale for selecting the issue is the impact that it has on the American population and its essence in determining the health of the population and the country’s implementation of social justice, and ethical principles.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

Comprehensive Review of the Literature

According to the CDC, diabetes has been affecting people in all age groups; however, the people at a higher risk of getting diseases are the old adults aged 64 years and above (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). In most cases, this vulnerable group is mainly affected by type two diabetes which involves the body’s failure to use or make insulin. Some of the common risk factors of diabetes among old adults include obesity, high blood pressure, high blood pressure, and lifestyle changes. According to the WHO, some of the common measures of preventing or reducing diabetes cases among older adults include exercising regularly, eating a balanced diet, avoiding alcohol intake and smoking, and monitoring blood sugar levels regularly (Micha et al., 2017). Diabetes is usually diagnosed using several strategies, which include, first Glycated hemoglobin test that indicates the average blood sugar levels for a period of three months. Secondly, a fasting blood sugar test that is taken mainly after the patient fasts overnight. Thirdly, the oral glucose tolerance test, requires the patient to drink a sugary liquid and fast overnight. The glucose tolerance test requires the sugar levels to be tested in intervals for two hours. After diagnosis the main treatment method that diabetic patients are subjected to include, insulin therapy, diabetic medication, and Bariatric surgery

Despite subjecting the patients to the prescribed treatment methods, there are several barriers that prevent or affect the elimination of diabetes. Some of these barriers include, first, the patient’s attitude towards physical exercises. In most cases, old diabetic patients usually have various discomforts and physical limitations, such as injuries and body complications that affect their ability to engage in physical exercises. Therefore, the patient has to develop an effective strategy to avoid these challenges in order to overcome the disease. Secondly, the patient's habit of eating in restaurants where they are served unbalanced diets worsens their pre-existing conditions. Thirdly, financial challenges. Even though the American healthcare system is funded and supported by healthcare insurance, diabetic patients still incur a lot of cost on the consumption of healthy foods and purchasing blood sugar monitoring kits (Stokes & Preston, 2017). Although these barriers still exist and affect the patient, there are several community support systems that help eliminate or reduce the disease within society. Some of these factors include, first, the community-based diabetes elimination programs. This is a program that provides a diabetes chronic care model that improves the patient’s self-management and the community resources needed to prevent diabetes. Secondly, the diabetic prevention program usually helps diabetic patients to learn how to develop and maintain their behavior in order to eliminate the disease.

Analyzing the Public Health Issue

To curb the increasing cases of diabetes in the United States, the government has outlined several strategies that focus on mitigating and eliminating diabetes cases. Some of these strategies include, first, implementation of the community diabetes education programs. This is self-management training through which diabetic educators educate the population about diabetes and self-care behaviors, for instance, monitoring the sugar levels and healthy eating practices that are needed to effectively control the disease (Mendola et al., 2018). Secondly, assessing the workers' health surveys. This helps to identify the baseline information on workers' health and educate them about the disease and the need for regular diabetes screening. These strategies have been effective in controlling diabetes since they have managed to capture and address a wide population living with diabetes or at risk of diabetes. The strategies have also shown significant improvements in self-care behavior changes, such as lifestyle change (Stokes & Preston, 2017). To improve the current diabetes situation, I would recommend the creation and implementation of policies that regulate the sale and consumption of some high-risk food such as snacks. Implementing these policies will enable the population at risk to focus on the consumption of healthier foods and balanced diets that do not put them at risk of getting the disease.

Implications of Diabetes in Advanced Practice Nursing

Implementation of diabetes in advanced practice nursing is perceived to have several key benefits in diabetes management. Some of these benefits include first, enhanced diabetic patient outcomes that occur mainly due to the quality of care provided in advanced practice nursing. Secondly, improved continuity and quality of diabetes care. Implementing advanced practice nursing ensures that diabetic patients are continuously receiving quality care since healthcare workers are well-qualified. Thirdly, the increased availability of healthcare workers for diabetes education, research, and consultation (Micha et al., 2017). Advanced practice nursing improves the expected healthcare results thus motivating healthcare workers to put more effort into fulfilling their duties and objectives

Conclusion

Diabetes is a serious condition affecting most people across all age groups in the United States; however, old adults are perceived to be at a higher risk of getting the disease than other population groups within the society. The risk factors of the disease include lifestyle changes, alcohol consumption, obesity, and failure to exercise. Some of the strategies used to curb the disease include educating the population about the disease and its risk and implementation of community-based programs. This public health policy analysis can be implemented in multiple communities across the country by educating the population about making healthier choices, encouraging people to engage in general physical activities, and implementing measures to curb the disease. I will manage to apply and utilize the gathered information in my capstone project mainly by using the information to assess and determine the health status of the population and their commitment towards eliminating diabetes within the society.

References

Bullard, K. M., Cowie, C. C., Lessem, S. E., Saydah, S. H., Menke, A., Geiss, L. S., ... & Imperatore, G. (2018). Prevalence of diagnosed diabetes in adults by diabetes type—the United States, 2016. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 67(12), 359.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5877361/

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2011). National diabetes fact sheet: national estimates and general information on diabetes and prediabetes in the United States, 2011. Atlanta, GA: US department of health and human services, centers for disease control and prevention, 201(1), 2568-2569. https://sunshinepando.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/national-diabetes-fact-sheet-2011-Sunshine-Prosthetics-and-Orthotics-Wayne-NJ.pdf

Micha, R., Peñalvo, J. L., Cudhea, F., Imamura, F., Rehm, C. D., & Mozaffarian, D. (2017). Association between dietary factors and mortality from heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes in the United States. Jama, 317(9), 912-924. file:///C:/Users/user/Downloads/jama_micha_2017_oi_170008.pdf

Mendola, N. D., Chen, T. C., Gu, Q., Eberhardt, M. S., & Saydah, S. (2018). Prevalence of total, diagnosed, and undiagnosed diabetes among adults: the United States, 2013-2016. US Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db319.htm?utm_source=STAT+Newsletters&utm_campaign=ae2c97fb19-MR_COPY_12&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_8cab1d7961-ae2c97fb19-150601577

Stokes, A., & Preston, S. H. (2017). Deaths attributable to diabetes in the United States: comparison of data sources and estimation approaches. PloS one, 12(1), e0170219. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0170219