Nursing Research
Diabetic conditions are dreaded. There are two types of diabetic conditions, type 1 and 2. These conditions have been on the rise in the recent times and are socially term lifestyle diseases. The reality of the conditions has led to evolution in the field of medical research, especially among the racial minority population in the United States. There has been observed trend of increased diabetic conditions among the African-American population, especially at Ft. Pierce, Florida. The trend has been worrying especially due to its observable racial inclination. This has brought the need to objectively research on the relationship thereof. This project investigates the causes of the rising cases of diabetic conditions among the African American population in Florida with particular attention to Ft. Pierce town. It investigates also the medical infrastructural support network available for the patients. The support infrastructure includes the clinical and knowledge repository, technology and personnel together the medical facilities dedicated towards helping the patients.
The modern medical practice has been largely based on evidence based practice, an approach that involves research and experiment oriented study that give recommendations that are credible and viable in dealing with the any emerging condition. Ft. Pierce is a cosmopolitan suburb but having African American population that is slightly higher than the other races. The local medical facilities have recorded increasing rate of type 2 diabetic conditions among the African American (Signorello, Schlundt, Cohen, Steinwandel, Buchowski, McLaughlin, Hargreaves,& Blot, 2007). This forms the subject of this capstone project in order to understand the remedial actions that could be necessary both in the short and long run. It is also important to delineate clearly the extent of the problem and it’s causing factors. This falls right in the domain of Evidence based practice (EBP).
Results
Among the sampled African American population, 30 were found to be nursing type 2 diabetic conditions while 5 were in the brink of developing the condition. Further, the remaining were fairly aware of the requisite deliberate actions that can avoid the predisposition to the developing the conditions. For those 30 nursing the diabetic conditions, 15 were not aware of the basic lifestyle vigilance that is precautionary in preventing the disease. Further, 8 of the others were obese and others neglected basic physical exercise necessary for healthy living. On the other hand, for the whites sample, 26 were diabetic, some of them drifting to severe conditions. Further, 3 were in the brink of developing the condition. The remaining people part of the sample did not have the infection and indicated no signs of developing the condition. They were evidently fairly informed about the disease.
Of the 26 patients, only a paltry 8 were not aware of the information on diabetes, the precautionary measures needed, the management issues and the lifestyle adjustments that reduce the predispositions. 6 of them were obese.
The information above can be tabulated for easy referencing.
The diabetic population
Discussion
The diabetic condition prevention and management is immensely knowledge intensive. People need to acquaint themselves with a lot of information regarding the condition and hence lead healthy lives. Diabetic conditions can be genetic. However, as had been pointed out earlier, the condition can be developed overtime and dependent on the lifestyle among other social dynamics. As can be seen from the graphs, the infection rate is high among the African American population sampled. Further, those unaware about the disease are also higher compared to the ones in the white data sampled.
It is worth noting that large percentages of the Black American population in Florida are engaged in formal employment and leading a middle class lifestyle. As can be seen above, the information on the management of the condition is seriously wanting. Indicators such obesity and high weights, low physical exercises and or lack thereof, unbalance and unhealthy diet having much sugar among others show a population not much informed on this matter hence having much predisposition to developing the infection (Chow, Foster, Gonzalez, & McIver 2012).
Conclusion
The result of the research on the aggregated population will go a long way in making public health policies that are geared community health awareness. This is the demonstration of the evidence based medicine practice, where research informs decision and policy initiatives.
Reference
Chow, E., Foster, H., Gonzalez, V. & McIver, L. (2012).The Disparate Impact of Diabetes on Racial/Ethnic Minority Populations. Journal of American Diabetes Association. 30(3): 130-133.
Signorello, L., Schlundt, D., Cohen,S., Steinwandel, M., Buchowski, M., McLaughlin, J., Hargreaves, M., & Blot, W. (2007).Comparing Diabetes Prevalence Between African Americans and Whites of Similar Socioeconomic Status. Journal of Public Health. 97(12): 2260–2267.
