Diabetic Health Education - Research Paper Example

? Diabetic Health Education Diabetes is a dangerous disease thus people should take interest in getting the basic knowledge on ways in which it is acquired, prevented and how a patient diagnosed with this disease can manage to live a normal life. These aspects can only be accomplished through education. This document is a proposal on the implementation of education in diabetes control and management. It contains the introduction, description, assessment, literature review, and plan of action, implementation and the conclusion. The proposed program focuses on diabetes patients in Cobb County in Georgia. Introduction Diabetes is one of the major chronic diseases found in the current world. It is in the group of metabolic ailment that is diagnosed in relation to high level of sugar in the body. The level of sugar in the body is determined by the inability of the pancreas to produce enough insulin or the poor response of cells towards the insulin produced (Brill, 2011). High levels of sugar in the blood lead to classical symptoms of diabetes which are: increased thirst, frequent urination and increased hunger. Scientifically, these symptoms are termed as polydipsia, polyuria and polyphagia respectively. The adverse impacts of this diagnosis are loss of weight while in other cases paralyze some of the body parts (Fratti, 2011). However, there are three types of diabetes. This is articulated to the cause of the ailment. The first type is known as Type 1 which is caused by failure of the body to produce insulin. This requires the patients to frequently inject insulin into their bodies. The second type is known as Type 2. It is caused by insulin resistance thus the condition occurs when cells fail to utilize insulin produced in a proper manner. The third type is referred to as gestational diabetes. This type of diabetes arises when pregnant women who have not been previously diagnosed with diabetes eventually develop high levels of glucose in their blood during the gestation period (Graffy, 2013). Description There is need to educate the public on the causes of diabetes and ways of surviving with it if diagnosed. This approach can foster control of the disease through proper management and mitigation. Basic education provides the public with a rough idea of the disease and ways of managing it as well as the approaches taken towards its control. In this case education is an essential tool in the minimization of diabetes infection. The greatest fear in dealing with diabetic patience is their non-adherence to teaching. Lack of knowledge about the disease makes the patient vulnerable and prone to worse stages of the disease. Education reduces chances of accruing the disease by providing healthy living tips. Healthy living makes the immune system stronger as well as creates room for positive metabolic processes. This makes it hard for the body to experience sugar deficiencies as well as high levels of glucose in the blood. Wellstar Cobb clinic has designed a proposal that will foster education in the region and minimize the adverse effects of diabetes disease in Cobb County. The main aim of the program is to assist at least 20 financially disabled patients diagnosed with diabetes. This notion came into concern after the clinic realized that some patients abort medication after a certain period of time. This form of ignorance is associated with the type of lifestyle in the region as well as the harsh economic conditions. Assessment Diabetes is currently a world pandemic. 34% of annual death rate result from diabetes related cases. Countries such as Canada are highly affected as it has registered over 9 million diabetic patients between the year 2011 and 2013. The worst scenario is that of the developing countries as the case is sterilized by high poverty levels. Most diabetic patients from the developing nations hardly survive for a long period of time with the disease due to high costs of food products and medical facilities in these regions. In other cases, developed nations such as Canada register high numbers of diabetic patients due to ignorance to adhere to basic health knowledge. The foods that people eat contribute highly to their level of body metabolism thus patients with obese conditions suffer intensively when diagnosed with diabetes. Causes of diabetes vary depending on the status of the place being analyzed. In places with low economic stability, the major factor that affects the condition and levels of diabetic patients is the poverty. A study carried out in the urban slum of Mumbai in India indicated that most of the diabetic patients living in poor conditions obtain the diagnosis as a result of the interaction between genes and the environmental factors (Mahajan & Padvi, 2013). Literature review Cobb County in Georgia is among the top five counties in the region that registers a high number of patients with diabetes and obesity related issues. This is because of ignorance from the general public in adhering to basic health matters. The rate of diabetes infection in Cobb County was 8.1% in the year 2007 which sums up to about 39,770 patients (Newton, 2009). The current diabetes status in Cobb County indicated that there has been a rise in the number of diabetic patients thus the rate of diabetes infection in this area is 12.8% which sums to 62,850 patients. The main aim of launching a health education program in Wellstar Cobb clinic is to promote diabetes awareness to the people in this region as well as controlling the risks of infection of the non-diabetic population. However there are various challenges that the program encounters. Almost 55,000 people living in Cobb County are below poverty level. Education is a major challenge in this region as most families cannot afford to take their children to advanced levels of education. Due to this notion, the level of literacy in the region is relatively low thus leading to ignorance of basic health activities. Most of the diabetes patients in Cobb County are in great danger since a majority of this population is not aware that it is carrying the disease (Newton, 2009). Therefore, it is hard to control the effects of the disease under these circumstances. Low income is another challenge that directly affects diabetes patients in this region. The cost of living in Cobb County is expensive. Most people pay 50% of their salary for housing costs. This poses a great challenge in the delivery of medical services. Plan of action Diabetes is a chronic disease thus requires a lot of money for the patient to stay fit. Due to its long term nature, many patients tend to give up on medication along the way because of lack of funds. In this case education can play a key role in ensuring the basic concepts that a patient requires to manage the disease are endorsed. This will save on the expense vested in controlling the disease as well as decrease the number of diabetic patients in the county. Moreover, the program will give room for free medical services to the disabled patients if the total population of diagnosed people is minimized. The program is expected to offer free medical checks as well as medication to 20 patients in each sub clinic-center across the county. This will be enacted after the diagnosed population is minimized. The program is also aimed at increasing the literacy levels of the general public in Cobb County. Public awareness is an essential approach towards minimizing the advanced conditions of diabetes diagnosis which may lead to the body being in a state of comer or death (Weinger & Carver, 2009). The clinic will be forced to create more sub-centers thus improve transport system in the county through the construction of roads that channel to the centers. A six month, medical funding campaign will be launched across Georgia and its neighbouring counties in order to support the project. Cobb County clinic has drafted a proposal plan that is expected to cost a total of 11 million. The plan is composed of 5 sub-center clinics which are to be built in Brookhaven, Roswell, Acworth, Alpharetta and Mableton. However, two buildings worth $800,000 each have been sighted in Brookhaven and Acworth and placed under the plan procedure. The buildings will be bought for the purpose of setting up the sub-center clinic since these two areas are highly populated thus there is no public land that can be bought for the project. There are various resources that must be present for the plan to be implemented successfully. These include: building materials which will cost $3.5million for three sub-clinics, 3 quarter acre pieces of land which will cost $1.2million each and labour which will total to $1.5million for the three sub-clinics. The remaining two sub-clinics in Brookhaven and Acworth will also require renovation which will cost approximately $200,000. Implementation The education program is expected to take course once the project is approved by the county government and funds are allocated to various sections that will help in the implementation of the project. Cobb county community is expected to play a major role in the project. This is by accepting the drafted proposal and executing the proposed plans through embarrassing the form of education being offered. The program will increase the number of job opportunities to the community since it educator in the sub-clinic centers. Each sub-clinic will be allocated a total of $375,000 as start-up fund upon set up completion. These funds will help in acquiring medical supplies, machinery and recruiting medical personnel. Evaluations The project is expected to experience various setbacks which have been placed under mitigations. Some of these setbacks are availability of a good management section which will enable the growth of the center clinics as well as implementation and attainment of objectives and goals set by the program. Public response is another setback that might lead to the failure of the project. The project is based on the people’s willingness to acquire education and help reduce diabetes disease cases. If the general population of Cobb County fails to adapt to this notion, the program will eventually fail to meet its goals. Conclusion Diabetes patients require monitoring and assistance from the community around them in order to fit into the normal life operations. By educating these patients and the general public at large, chances of suppressing the diabetes menace will be high in the county. The proposed program gives an opportunity that creates room which can accommodate the financially disabled patients. It can general numerous benefits to the Cobb County community if endorsed with total support. References Brill, M. T. (2011). Diabetes. New York, NY: Twenty-First Century Books. Fratti, L. (2011). Diabetes: The real truth. Bloomington: Author House Publishers. Graffy, J. (2013). Approaches to diabetes empowerment, control or both. Primary Health Care Research & Development, 14. 221-223. Mahajan, H. & Padvi, M. (2013). Health profile of diabetic patients in an urban slum of Mumbai, India. Innovative Journal of Medical & Health Science, 3(3), l. Newton, W. F. (2009). Annual action plan for Cobb County: Georgia. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 1(2), 68. Weinger, K. & Carver, C, A. (2009). Educating Your Patient with Diabetes. Berlin. Springer. Read More