Diabetes: Condition Management Strategies
Introduction
Diabetes is a highly prevalent chronic condition characterized by unusually high blood sugar levels. Diabetes affects individuals whose pancreas does not produce enough insulin to regulate sugar. Nonetheless, it can also develop when the body does not appropriately utilize the insulin produced by the pancreas in sugar regulation. Consequently, high blood sugar levels can damage vital body organs, especially the nerves and blood vessels. As a result, diabetes patients live a poor life quality since they are obligated to manage several medical conditions and persevere through aggravated challenges. Sadly, diabetes also affects families, nurse practitioners, and the healthcare system due to its economic impact and pressure. Thus, the following report analyzes the condition, its contributing factors, strategies to mitigate its impact, and solutions to prevent its incidence. The report proposes creating a comprehensive teaching plan to create awareness of the condition and educate patients and their families on practical solutions to manage the condition and ensure a healthy lifestyle.
Problem Statement
Researchers estimate that more than half a billion people on the globe live with diabetes, with higher prevalence rates in low and middle-income countries. However, nine out of ten individuals have type 2 diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus. Unfortunately, the incidence rates of type II diabetes are increasing, suggesting that it is becoming a public health crisis, particularly impacting the life quality of the older generation (Ogurtsova et al., 2017). Nonetheless, the diabetes crisis does not only affect patients because family members suffer through challenges. For example, diabetes is costly to manage since it requires occasional visits to the clinic for medical treatments, drug administration, and check-ups. Thus, most families living with diabetes patients are financially drained and exposed to stressful situations.
Similarly, medical institutions feel pressure due to increased diabetes patient cases and limited resources to address issues. Hence, the increasing numbers of diabetes cases pose threats to the development of healthcare systems due to their grave implications on service delivery and individuals’ quality of life. As a result, educating the population about the condition, how to live a healthier lifestyle, and how to ensure the wellness of affected individuals can encourage collaboration between healthcare systems and the community to reduce its prevalence (Zheng et al., 2019). Thus, creating and implementing a strategic teaching plan involving all stakeholders can enable individuals to acknowledge the condition and take initiative to prevent its development. In turn, the general population and healthcare systems will reap benefits.
Role of Leadership and Change Management in Educating the Population about Diabetes
One of the main causes of diabetes is an unhealthy lifestyle characterized by limited physical activities and poor eating habits. As a result, initiating preventive approaches through educational training can enable individuals to observe higher living standards and gradually improve their health. Nonetheless, leaders in medical institutions and the community are in the best position to advocate for education programs and engage with relevant shareholders to ensure that individuals in the community access and implement recommended solutions (Spencer et al., 2018). Therefore, individuals in leadership positions can leverage available resources and work with health workers to create educational programs and training opportunities that support healthy living habits.
Nurses have a moral obligation to ensure the well-being of all individuals in society by informing them of disease conditions. Consequently, nursing ethics proposes professional engagement with educational programs in medical institutions and the community to maximize positive health outcomes. However, creating awareness and educating individuals on the benefits of sustaining healthy lifestyles is not enough because most individuals do not readily embrace changes (Moussa et al., 2019). As a result, it is necessary to inform individuals about the need to accept change and walk them through practical solutions to adopt healthy lifestyle practices. Similarly, change management involves providing individuals with resources to improve their health. Thus, nurses should be on the front line to ensure that all individuals receive assistance according to needs.
Communication and Collaboration Strategies
Education and training programs are beneficial for individuals, caregivers, and families living with diabetes patients. Managing diabetes is costly and could significantly impact a family’s financial stability and living standards. Similarly, dealing with comorbidities as a result of diabetes is stressful over prolonged periods and can diminish a caregivers’ motivation towards providing the highest possible medical care (Zheng et al., 2019). Nonetheless, effective communication and collaboration between affected individuals, caregivers, and practitioners can help alleviate these issues by focusing attention on needy individuals. Moreover, interprofessional collaboration improves access to evidence-based information, which is critical in ensuring positive outcomes.
The healthcare landscape is characterized by complex issues often introducing challenges and communication barriers that limit goal achievement. Thus, a practical solution to enhancing communication and collaboration between healthcare professionals and the community is abolishing communication barriers. For example, community health workers and nurses should always observe transparency in healthcare service provision to enhance individuals’ trust in the system. Moreover, healthcare organizations should promote a culture that allows individuals to voice out concerns and address issues facing the system (Lambrinou et al., 2019). Subsequently, all staff responsible for program implementation should be held accountable for their actions to encourage collaborative efforts towards achieving goals. Consequently, accountability, a supportive culture, and transparency will aid in the comprehensive implementation of programs to serve their purpose.
Role of Nursing Practice Standards and Policies in Guiding Educational Interventions
The American Nurses’ Association recommends effective diagnostic, intervention, and evaluation solutions to improve community health practices and deal with critical medical conditions in the population. As a result, providing training and educational programs for diabetes patients and individuals taking care of these patients meets the tenets of reliable interventions to alleviate disease in the population. Disease intervention strategies involve assigning roles and executing responsibilities in medical institutions and the community (Hawley et al., 2019). Thus, nursing standards obligate nurses to take part in community awareness initiatives because they possess the skills and power to help people change behaviors and acknowledge diabetes risk factors.
Similarly, policies toward the prevention and management of diabetes have played a major role in alleviating the issues individuals face when living with the condition. For example, research by Natural-Experiments for Translation in Diabetes-2.0 suggests that the expansion of the Affordable Care Medicaid Act improved access to financing for marginalized individuals with diabetes, with the majority of individuals being recently insured Hispanic patients (CDC, 2021). Unfortunately, most individuals do not know how to take advantage of these policies for their benefit. Thus, educating the population on all factors regarding the condition and its management will put them in a better position to use government benefits and other insurance solutions to minimize diabetes treatment and management costs.
Impact of Training and Education on Health Outcomes in Diabetes Cases
Diabetes is a complex medical condition, especially at its later stages, thus exposing individuals to uncertainties, stress, and anxiety issues. However, Zheng et al. (2019) suggest that creating awareness through targeted training and education programs can help individuals improve their life quality since they will be informed of the appropriate steps to take in case of medical complications. Similarly, training and education initiatives are crucial in improving the health practices of populations since individuals desire to live a healthy and comfortable life. Moreover, informing caretakers of the best solutions to handle diabetes patients and addressing their issues puts them in a better position to provide the necessary care (Moussa et al., 2019). Hence, training and education can promote the adoption of healthy living standards and inform caretakers of diabetes management techniques to limit adversities.
However, it is vital to leverage advanced technology and ensure care coordination and the utilization of community resources to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of training and educational programs. Creating awareness in a population can prove to be hectic as it requires a wealth of resources. Nonetheless, solutions like social media and digital media channels can help trainers and practitioners to reach more people and deliver personalized care (Hawley et al., 2019). Thus, these solutions are essential in advocating for positive changes and realizing goals. Further, care coordination between medical practitioners and caretakers, while utilizing resources available in the immediate community can help limit resource constraints for improved outcomes.
Conclusion
Diabetes is a medical condition that significantly interferes with people’s ability to enjoy their lives and live comfortably. However, the condition is manageable with the adoption of effective management and treatment solutions. That being said, it is vital to create educational programs to help individuals familiarize themselves with the aspects of the disease and practical solutions to deal with associated issues. Moreover, leaders and nurses in institutions should take initiative to spearhead and support these programs and policies that advocate for change. Nonetheless, it is crucial to leverage technology, collaboration, and effective communication to reduce challenges.
References
CDC. (2021). Impact of health policies and programs on type 2 diabetes: Results from the NEXT-D2 partner network.
Hawley, N. L., Suss, R., Cash, H. L., Aitaoto, N., Samoa, R., Ayers, B., & McElfish, P. (2019). Diabetes prevention and care programs in the US-affiliated pacific Islands: challenges, innovation, and recommendations for effective scale-up. Current Diabetes Reports, 19(5), 1-9.
Lambrinou, E., Hansen, T. B., & Beulens, J. W. (2019). Lifestyle factors, self-management and patient empowerment in diabetes care. European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, 26(2_suppl), 55-63.
Moussa, L., Garcia-Cardenas, V., & Benrimoj, S. I. (2019). Change facilitation strategies used in the implementation of innovations in healthcare practice: A systematic review. Journal of Change Management, 19(4), 283-301.
Ogurtsova, K., da Rocha Fernandes, J. D., Huang, Y., Linnenkamp, U., Guariguata, L., Cho, N. H., Cavan, D., Shaw, J. E., & Makaroff, L. E. (2017). IDF Diabetes Atlas: Global estimates for the prevalence of diabetes for 2015 and 2040. Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice, 128, 40-50.
Spencer, M. S., Kieffer, E. C., Sinco, B., Piatt, G., Palmisano, G., Hawkins, J., Lebron, A., Espitia, N., Tang, T., Funnell, M., & Heisler, M. (2018). Outcomes at 18 months from a community health worker and peer leader diabetes self-management program for Latino adults. Diabetes Care, 41(7), 1414-1422.
Zheng, F., Liu, S., Liu, Y., & Deng, L. (2019). Effects of an outpatient diabetes self-management education on patients with type 2 diabetes in China: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Diabetes Research, 2019.