Introduction
Globally, an alarming increased rate of diabetes diagnosis has been reported with over 380 million diabetic cases reported in 2015. Diabetes has been found to cause death, stroke, amputations, or kidney failure. The increased rate of this global epidemic has been fueled by urbanization and lifestyle. It is projected that by 2030, over 600 million people will be suffering from diabetes (Henderson & Barry, 2014). Based on the findings of the American Diabetes Association that examined the cost of diabetes treatment released in 2013, an estimated total cost of the diagnosed diabetes rose to $245 billion in 2012 compared to $174 billion that was recorded in 2007. This cost translates to 41% increase in over a period of five years.
A similar study, Economic Costs of Diabetes, commissioned by the association in 2012 in the U.S to address the increased financial burden of meeting diabetes treatment, human resources, and loss of productivity attributed to diabetes concluded that indeed the economic cost of managing and treating diabetes had gone up (McManus & Schmidt, 2015). Consequently, these findings confirm that financially challenged people will find it challenging to meet the financial threshold required in addressing the cost attributed to managing and treating diabetes.
Notably, this paper examines the prevention and control of diabetes for the financially challenged people based on the tenets of nutrition and physical activities. These prevention and control efforts constitute the health priority within the New York state healthy people 2020 priority in the prevention of chronic diseases. In addition, this paper examines the positive relationship that should exist between health promotion and patient compliance.
Diabetes Medical Expenditure
People who have been diagnosed with diabetes strive to maintain their condition through regular medical check-ups. This requires them to incur an average medical expenditure of $7,900annually.Against this background, Bayer & Fairchild (2015) conducted a study on the various components of the medical expenditure an individual diagnosed with diabetes has to incur annually.
Source: Bayer & Fairchild (2015)
The study found that an individual has to use 43% of individual income in inpatient care and a further 18% in the treating complications attributed to diabetes. Additionally, an individual has to use 21% of income to incur the cost of physician visits and a further 12% to meet the nursing cost. Financially challenged people are classified in this category (Klerman & Chevron, 2012). However, through proper nutrition and physical activities, financially challenged people can be able to prevent and control diabetes.
Prevention through Nutrition
Through proper nutrition, individuals can reduce rates of diabetes. Maintaining poor diet and physical inactivity has been attributed to causing an average of 5000,000 deaths annually resulting from diabetes, obesity, and stroke cases (Cavaye, 2013). The findings of Economic Costs of Diabetes conducted in 2012 indicated that 14% of all the U.S. deaths in 2012 could be attributed to diabetes originating from poor diet and inactivity. Interesting to note is McManus & Schmidt (2015) study that linked sedentary lifestyles to the 23% diabetic cases reported in the U.S in 2015.
Cases of death estimated to be 3% of the total global deaths among children in 2014 were attributed to diabetes. In order to address this, it is recommended that breastfeeding is advocated for as a source of nutrition for the young ones. The Blueprint for Action of the Department of Health and Human Services Blueprint concerning breast milk portend that breastfeeding reduces significantly the incidents or severity of the infant infections and diseases, for instance, diabetes type 1 and 2 (Klerman & Chevron, 2012).
On the other hand, heavy consumption of refined grains, sugary drinks that are associated to having high levels of glycemic load has been linked to increased risk of developing diabetes. Ingrained on the findings of the study II of the Nurses’ Health, women who consume one or more sugary beverages daily had 83% higher risk of developing diabetes type 2 compared to their counterparts whoconsumed less than one sugary beverage monthly.
Prevention through Physical Activities
Physical exercises helps improve the muscles’ ability use insulin and absorb glucose, consequently, putting minimal stress on the insulin-making cells. The tenets of effective physical exercise are ingrained in the intensity, the duration, and the frequency of exercise. Low-intensity and long-duration physical exercises are the most suitable for individuals diagnosed with diabetes. Based on study findings, Cavaye (2013) opines that physically inactive individuals are twice likely to develop diabetes compared to individuals who engage in regular exercise. He further asserts that physical inactivity poses as much risk for developing diabetes as smoking, consumption of sugary beverages and obesity.
Significantly, engaging in physical exercise helps in the regulation of blood glucose and enhances insulin action. In addition, it improves protein and fats metabolism, thus minimizing chances of developing diabetes. Further, physical activity is deemed to be of critical importance in improving the mental state of individuals through increasing human body energy and decreasing depression that are attributed to be among the predisposing factors of diabetes.
Strategies for Encouraging Behavioral Change
Counselling
Counselling services offeredby nurses aims at increasing the coping ability of patients, helping in rooting out their mental traumas, and establishing elaborate healthy relationships with family members and peers. Notably, the nurse’s rolehelps in the early detection, prevention, and correction of behaviors that may be detrimental to patients and that may impair their social life. Additionally, creation of a more nurturing environment for patients to become socially responsible individualshelps encourage behavioral change.
Socialization
Hospitalsare institutions where patients spend the most of their time. In this environment they learn how to socialize with peers.Additionally, theenvironment enables patientsto achieve developmental milestones both physically and psychologically. The nurse is obliged to initiate and lead the process of socialization as road map of encouraging behavioral change.
A healthy Nurse-Patient Relationship
There is a directly proportional correlation between health promotion and patient compliance. In addition, a healthy nurse-patient relationship, where there is positive communication patterns and developmentally appropriate supervision and regulations, as well as anti-drug and alcohol dialogues, serves to combat risk factors and encourage behavior change among patients.
Nursing Theory
The Theory of Reasoned Action
Ingrained in health promotion, the theory advocated by Martin Fishbein in 1975 portends that behavior is individual controlled. Fishbein argues that people consider the consequences of behaviors before engaging in them. The perceived expectations dictate behavior engagement(Henderson & Barry, 2014). A nurse should apply this theory in encouraging the financially challenged people to adopt proper nutrition and engage in regular physical exercise to prevent and control diabetes. For instance, a research done by the Nurses’ Health Studies that examined the health and dietary habits of 160,000 women for 18 years by serving them an average of two whole grains daily concluded that these women were 30% less likely to develop diabetes type 2 compared to those who rarely or did not consume whole grains at all (Henderson & Barry, 2014).
Ethical Conflicts
When dealing with noncompliance behavior, a nurse should incorporate ethics. A nurse has an obligation to disclose all information concerning the strategies of behavior change so that noncompliant individuals can make a choice of either refusing or agreeing to corporate. The nurse should exercise autonomy. In order to deal with noncompliance behavior, the nurse must fully inform noncompliant individuals about nature and the purpose of the behavior change, procedures to be employed, expected participant benefits, and the alternatives of participating in the behavior change.
Implicitly, informed consent constitutes of noncompliant individuals’ability to understand what they are being asked to do in the behavior change, making a rational judgment about the effect of participating in the behavior change, and making a choice to participate freely without coercive influence (Bayer & Fairchild, 2015).
Conclusion
Individuals diagnosed with diabetic condition incur an average medical expenditure of $7,900 annually. Financially challenged people find the cost challenging to meet. Against this background, this study concludes that financially challenged people can prevent and control diabetes through proper nutrition and regular physical activities.
Further, a nurse should embrace counselling, socialization, and healthy nurse-patient relationship as platforms for encouraging behavioral change. Ingrained in health promotion, the nurse should embrace the theory of reasoned action. In addition, when dealing with noncompliance behavior, a nurse should incorporate ethicsand allow noncompliant individuals participate freelyin behavior change without coercion.
References
Bayer, R. & Fairchild, A. (2015). Privacy, State, and Disease Surveillance in America. Journal of Public health, 34, 52-57.
Cavaye, H. (2013). Doing Community-Driven Research: A Description of Seattle Partners for Healthy Communities. Journal of Urban Health, 34, 51-53.
Henderson, J., & Barry, G. (2014). Towards a World of Positive Development. Silver Spring, MD: Greenwood.
Klerman, G., & Chevron, E. (2012). Personal and Psychotherapy of Depression. New York: Basic Books.
McManus, M., & Schmidt, J. (2015). WIC reauthorization: Opportunities to improve the nutritional status of women infants and children. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
