Prevention Of Diabetic Complications Among Elderly

Diabetes is a disease where the body is unable to produce or use insulin effectively. Insulin is needed for proper storage and use of carbohydrates. Without it, blood sugar levels can become too high or too low, resulting in a diabetic emergency. It affects about 7.8% of the population. The incidence of diabetes is known to increase with age. It’s the leading cause of end-stage renal disease in the US, and is the primary cause of blindness and foot and leg amputation. It is known to cause neuropathy in up to 70% of diabetic patients. Individuals with diabetes are twice as likely to develop cardiovascular disease. There are two types of diabetes: Type 1 and Type 2.

Public health emphasizes the importance of prevention and proactively taking care of one’s body. As people grow older, they must follow certain guidelines to ensure that they age healthily and successfully. One of the biggest concerns facing the aging population is chronic diseases. Chronic diseases are long term diseases that have a slow progression. Once chronic diseases pass “certain symptomatic or diagnostic thresholds,” they become a permanent aspect of an individual’s life because “medical and personal regimens can sometimes control but can rarely cure them” (Albert and Freeman 105). One chronic condition that is a cause of concern is diabetes. Diabetes is not only one of the leading causes of death in the over 65 population but

Diabetes is a serious medical condition that can also be a risk factor for the development of many different diseases and conditions including dementia, heart disease, and CVA. Thus, effective management of diabetes is very important. Patient compliance can be difficult to achieve if the person affected with diabetes is not educated about the illness or treatment, has not fully accepted the diagnosis or its severity, will not change habits or believes that the prescribed treatment regime is too difficult or ineffective, has cultural beliefs conflicting with the treatment regime, experiences stressful events, lacks social support, or suffers from psychiatric issues unrelated to diabetes (Gerard, Griffin, & Fitzpatrick, 2010). As one may expect, adequate education programs are essential tools when dealing with diabetics. Solid education will provide the patient with information as well as teaching the necessary skills to manage the disorder. The primary focus of any diabetes education program must be to empower patients as a part of the multidisciplinary team. This team should be focused at integrating diabetes into the lives of the patients and this focus should be based on the decisions made by the patient, otherwise the treatment plan can be looked on as forced (Gerald et al., 2010). Every patient stricken with diabetes has the right to benefit from an education program of this type. First, basic education and facts should be administered directly following the diagnosis of

Diabetes has become an epidemic in today’s society. Diabetes affects almost every system in the body, and with an estimated 346 million people in the world with diabetes, healthcare has been heavily affected by the disease (Ramasamy, Shrivastava, P., & Shrivastava, S., 2013). One of the biggest issues for healthcare workers when it comes to diabetes, is that it is such a complicated disease. With so many different systems being affected, medical professionals have had to learn how the disease process works, what causes diabetes to work through the systems, and the best treatments to address all these issues. Through much research, the healthcare system has grown very knowledgeable on diabetes. One important aspect of treating diabetes has been in the introduction of diabetic education. In the past, nurses and dieticians had been responsible for educating patients on diabetes, but now that role is also extended to other people in the healthcare team, including the patient (Tomky, 2013). In fact, patients taking an active role in the education process, including learning to self-care has now become a priority in diabetes treatment. The following paper will discuss diabetic education, the importance of self-care and how this affects a patient’s compliance.

It also shows that not having someone to help these patients manage their diabetes as an obstacle to good diabetes management. This study created a plan and this plan was able to be tested to show its effectiveness in diabetes

Type II diabetes is a disease that affects millions of people in the United States and is also a disease that is continually growing in numbers. The cost of the individual and national health care systems is also a number that is growing. Policy for prevention of diabetes and pre-diabetes is something that while has changed some in the past, has been basically the same for the past 20-25 yeas. This disease affects many throughout the country, but effects those in the middle and lower classes due to the cost of eating healthier being greater than the alternative and also due to the fact that these groups are less likely to go for routine health care.

Diabetes is a chronic illness that requires continuous medical care and patient self-management education to prevent acute complications and to reduce the risk of long-term complications[ ].

According to the Department of Health and Human Services (2011), 18.5 % of the United States population is over the age of 60 years. Of these, 10.9 million (26.9%) are diagnosed with diabetes mellitus (ADA, 2011.) In Lewis and associates’ text book on Medical- Surgical nursing, Lewis states that the incidence of diabetes mellitus (DM) increases with age (Lewis, Dirksen, Heitkemper, Bucher, and Camera, 2011.) The purpose of this paper is to explore the disease process of diabetes mellitus in the geriatric population.

In fact, Diabetes is the 7th leading cause of death in the US and the leading cause of kidney failure, lower-limb amputations, and adult-onset blindness, (CDC, 2015). Patient diagnosed with diabetes have increased risks of comorbidities and death over those without Diabetes. Without weight loss and moderate physical activity, 15% to 30% of those with pre-diabetes will develop diabetes within 5 years. Ongoing patient self-management education and support are critical to reducing the risk of long-term complications. The role patients’ involvement is vital in the management of Type 2 Diabetes. Nurse Practitioners should strive in developing a plan of care that is built upon their patients concerns and priorities.

Type 2 diabetes is a major challenge facing the world today. It is estimated there are currently 245 million people with diabetes and that number will climb to 380 million in 20 years. Patients are currently told to eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly, monitor blood glucose, and take medications but that obviously isn’t enough. Long lasting behavior change is needed to achieve better self-care. In order to improve the overall quality of care for diabetic patients, psychological factors and supporting mechanisms are of great importance.

According to the American Diabetes Association, the complications and cost acquired from diabetes can be dramatically reduce if patients are more aware of the potential risk and receive proper health prevention education. Diabetes self-management is essential in reducing the complications of disease. Researchers use several theories to help come up with the best way to provide care to patients with chronic illness such as diabetes. The major theory for this EBP is the Chronic Care Model, the author chose this model because of its versatility, it can be apply in any setting and allow for the improvement of care of both the individual and community level (Coleman, Austin, Brach, & Wagner, 2009)

Diabetes is associated with wide range of complications such as chronic renal failure, blindness, amputations, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, and neuropathy (Alotabi, A., et al., 2016). There is no known cure for diabetes, but the disease can be controlled through health management that includes multiple perspectives of care such as medications, blood glucose monitoring, diet, nutrition, screening for long-term complications and regular physical activity (Alotabi, A., et al., 2016). Managing diabetes may be complicated and requires the knowledge and skills of both healthcare providers and the clients. Studies have shown that to prevent or delay diabetic complications due to diabetes, counseling and other lifestyle interventions are the effective therapy. Even with many policies set up for diabetes, 8.1 million Americans are undiagnosed with diabetes mellitus, and approximately 86 million Americans ages 20 and older have blood glucose levels that considerably increase their risk of developing Diabetes Mellitus in the next several years (CDC, 2015). For diabetes care to be successful there needs to be a good understanding of the disease and management by both patients and healthcare providers,

As the healthcare market moves toward population health management, it is vital that healthcare providers manage high risk patients with chronic diseases effectively. Patients are becoming increasingly more involved in their care and they are seeking to make the health care delivery system more responsive to their own needs. The Chronic Care Model (CCM) uses a systematic approach to restructuring medical care to create partnerships between health systems and communities (Stellefson, Dipnarine, Stopka, 2013). Diabetes is a major cause of heart disease and stroke in the United States. It affects 25.6 million adults (Center for Disease Control (CDC), 2011). One of

Epidemiology is the study of environmental and genetic influences on the prevalence of disease and injury (Rossignol, 2007, p. 1). Environmental influences include pollution, lifestyle choices, health care access, care quality, social factors, and workplace hazards. These and other factors help to determine geographic, social, and economic differences in health quality. Epidemiology is therefore the study of the underlying causes of disease and injury, and is a scientific discipline because the contributing factors are assumed to be identifiable and quantifiable.

Diabetes is a major problem in our society today. Many people have heard about the disease; however, they do not know too much about its complications. Diabetes is a chronic, progressive and lifelong condition that affects the body’s ability to use the energy found in food (WebMD, 2016). Many new cases are confirmed every year and unfortunately, many go undiagnosed for years. Diabetes is a serious disease and need to be taking seriously. The disease can lead to many other health problems such as blindness, nerve damage and kidney diseases. The more the community understand and made aware of the seriousness of the disease, the better it can be control and or prevented.