Prevalence of Diabetes in Australia Assignment Sample

• Subject Name : Nursing

Health Promotion in Australia

Introduction to Prevalence of Diabetes in Australia

Health promotion is one of the prime responsibilities of healthcare professionals. This is crucial as it helps in the maintenance of the community well-being (Fry & Zask, 2017). The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia also identifies health promotion as key conduct to be practised by registered nurses (Cowin, 2019). One of the major health concerns in Australia is the rise in the number of individuals with Diabetes type II or Diabetes Mellitus (Diabetes Australia, 2020). This essay will apply health promotion as per the Ottawa charter of health promotion for the management of diabetes in Australia. This paper will also identify the impacts of successful health promotion on the population with an evidence-based approach.

Background

Diabetes is one of the major health concerns associated with the Australian population. It has been estimated that 4.9% of the Australian population, that 1.2 million of individuals suffered from diabetes in the year 2017-2018 (Koye et al., 2019). It has been estimated that almost 300 Australians develop diabetes each year, with respect to the population, it can be estimated that in every five minutes, one individual is diagnosed with diabetes in the country. At present, about 1.7 million Australians have diabetes diagnosed (Koye et al., 2019). The undiagnosed or silent diabetes in the population is estimated to be up to 500000 (Diabetes Australia, 2020). The impact of diabetes is not only on the patient but also on the family and the carers. This implies, that the overall impact of diabetes on the population is on about 2.4 million Australians (Government of Australia, 2020). Diabetes has been identified as a major health problem in the country as it is the fastest-growing chronic condition in the country. Type I diabetes accounts for 10% of the increasing diabetic patients and type II for 85% of all the diabetic patients in the country (Diabetes Australia, 2020). Further, it is also crucial to control and manage the disease as it is associated with several comorbid health conditions including blindness. About 25%-35% of Australians have reported diabetic retinopathy (Diabetes Australia, 2020). About 15% of Australians with diabetes have reported macula edema making diabetes a leading cause of preventable blindness in Australia (Government of Australia, 2020). Other complications that are associated with the health condition is the risk of amputations with an annual account for more than 400 in the country as a direct consequence to diabetes (Harding et al., 2014). Cardiovascular diseases are common in patients with diabetes and a leading cause of death in Australia (Harding et al., 2014). Diabetes also affects the renal system and is associated with kidney disease increasing the burden on the healthcare system of the country and affecting the well being of the population significantly (Government of Australia, 2020).

Application of Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion for Diabetes

The Ottawa charter is a five-step health promotion framework developed by the World Health Organization to promote the health ad well being in association with the determinants of the health (Thompson et al., 2018). The charter is applied as an advocacy for the health actions through consideration of political, cultural, social, environmental, and biological factors of the disease (Fry & Zask, 2017). It also promotes empowerment and shared decision-making practices through community participation and engagement. The first principle of Ottawa health charter is to build a healthy public policy (Thompson et al., 2018). The public policies play a critical role in the overall health of the community and for the prevention of chronic and non-communicable diseases like diabetes. Therefore, to control and manage type II diabetes in Australia, it is crucial to work on policy development. The focus of the policy should be on generating awareness about diabetes and to ensure the application of preventive measures (Halliday et al., 2017). The Australian Government has developed the National Diabetes Strategy that aims to review the current diabetes services and care, maximise the use of healthcare resources, enhance coordination of healthcare resources and minimize the disease incidence and associated healthcare system complications (Government of Australia, 2020). The policy should therefore be developed through assessment of data from this strategy for the development of a comprehensive framework. The second principle of the charter is to create a supportive environment (Thompson et al., 2018). A healthy living environment is created by ensuring support and care to foster healthy choices. Therefore, a supportive environment should be created that can promote self-reliance in individuals. This can be done through the inclusion of telemedicine and telehealthcare services that keep the patients involved in the care and management of diabetes (Huo et al., 2016). A healthy living environment is created also through the identification of the organisations that can participate and assist in the application of the developed policies and fostering a collaborative approach to reduce the incidence and to effectively manage diabetes in the community (Wood et al., 2020).

The third principle of Ottawa charter is to develop personal skills (Fry & Zask, 2017). The personal skills that can be developed by the healthcare professionals to achieve the desired outcomes can be focused on the promotion of patient empowerment facilitated through patient education and promotion of health literacy (Litterbach, et al., 2020). As individuals in the community, personal skills can be developed by understanding the suitable food items, focusing on diets, etc. The fourth principle of Ottawa health promotion charter is to strengthen the community action (Thompson et al., 2018). Community action is crucial to reduce the burden of chronic illnesses like diabetes that are preventable. This can be done through the promotion of health and physical activity, reducing the risk of development of diabetes and the promotion of a collaborative approach for action (Hill et al., 2017). Concrete and effective community action can help in the establishment of priorities and making decisions. Further, through planning the strategies and focusing on their implementation to achieve a better health. The fifth principle of the Ottawa charter is to reorient healthcare services (Thompson et al., 2018). The application of health promotion frameworks and strategy is dependent on the availability of health infrastructure and means to apply the developed policy (Halliday et al., 2017). Reorientation of the healthcare services also requires that attention is provided to health research and changes needed in professional education and training (Halliday et al., 2017). This can lead a change in the attitude of organisations and health services to focus on the holistic needs of the patients who suffer from diabetes and ensure a higher quality care (Huo et al., 2016). Therefore, to reorient the health services, it becomes crucial to focus on increased testing, develop the infrastructure, and orient services towards prevention and control of diabetes mellitus (Koye et al., 2019).

Impact of Health Promotion

Health promotion helps not only in educating the patients and community but also helps in reduction in the incidence and overall management of a public health problem (Litterbach et al., 2020). Health promotion is beneficial for diabetes management through provision of health knowledge, changing the attitudes of the individuals in the community, and impacting the practice (Siopis et al., 2020). A major aspect of reducing the risk of preventable illnesses like Diabetes is to promote education. Through health education, the community is aware of the consequences of health condition and is able to take rational steps to ensure the beneficence of their health (Wood et al., 2020). Further, this also promotes changing of lifestyles crucial for the management and incidence reduction in diabetes. These changes include reduced intake of processed sugar and adoption of exercise in daily routines (Litterbach et al., 2020). Medication adherence in the patients is also improved through the inclusion of health promotion strategies in the healthcare system. Therefore, promotion of health and medication adherence is helpful in reducing the risk of secondary comorbidities, improves the management of the health condition, and improves the quality of life of the patient (Koye et al., 2019). Further, health promotion through the application of strategies as that of Ottawa health charter also help in closing the gaps in preventive care. Health promotion for diabetes is also impactful to change the behaviour of the patients where they approach a healthy lifestyle with an understanding of the detrimental impacts of the health condition (Government of Australia, 2020). This helps in the cessation of smoking and helps in the reduction of alcohol consumption in the patients that facilitates management of the health condition (Diabetes Australia, 2020). Therefore, through health promotion, the overall incidence of the disease can be reduced and enhanced management can be ensured for the community well-being.

Conclusion on Prevalence of Diabetes in Australia

Diabetes is one of the major health concerns in Australia with about 4.9% of the population suffering from it directly. The concerns associated with diabetes are multimodal as it is a chronic disease that results in several health complications like blindness and cardiovascular problems. This essay provides a brief discussion of how the Ottawa charter for health promotion can be applied for control of Diabetes Mellitus in Australia. This paper discussed the five steps of the Ottawa charter and suggests their application in the country through an evidence-based approach. This paper also summarizes the impact of health promotion strategies on the control and management of diabetes in the population. Through this essay, it can be concluded that application of health promotion strategies can help in the reduction of incidence of the disease and facilitate its effective management in the community to enhance the overall health and foster beneficence of the population.

References for Prevalence of Diabetes in Australia

Cowin, L. S., Riley, T. K., Heiler, J., & Gregory, L. R. (2019). The relevance of nurses and midwives code of conduct in Australia. International Nursing Review, 66(3), 320-328. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/inr.12534

Diabetes Australia (2020). Diabetes in Australia. https://www.diabetesaustralia.com.au/about-diabetes/diabetes-in-australia/

Fry, D., & Zask, A. (2017). Applying the Ottawa Charter to inform health promotion programme design. Health Promotion International, 32(5), 901-912. https://academic.oup.com/heapro/article-abstract/32/5/901/2951027

Government of Australia (2020). Type II Diabetes. https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/type-2-diabetes

Halliday , J. A., Hendrieckx, C., Busija, L., Browne, J. L., Nefs, G., Pouwer, F., & Speight, J. (2017). Validation of the WHO-5 as a first-step screening instrument for depression in adults with diabetes: Results from Diabetes MILES–Australia. Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice, 132, 27-35. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168822717301754

Harding, J. L., Shaw, J. E., Peeters, A., Guiver, T., Davidson, S., & Magliano, D. J. (2014). Mortality trends among people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes in Australia: 1997–2010. Diabetes Care, 37(9), 2579-2586. https://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/37/9/2579.short

Hill, K., Ward, P., Grace, B. S., & Gleadle, J. (2017). Social disparities in the prevalence of diabetes in Australia and in the development of end stage renal disease due to diabetes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in Australia and Maori and Pacific Islanders in New Zealand. BMC Public Health, 17(1), 1-8. https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-017-4807-5

Huo, L., Shaw, J. E., Wong, E., Harding, J. L., Peeters, A., & Magliano, D. J. (2016). Burden of diabetes in Australia: Life expectancy and disability-free life expectancy in adults with diabetes. Diabetologia, 59(7), 1437-1445. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00125-016-3948-x

Koye, D. N., Magliano, D. J., Reid, C. M., Pavkov, M. E., Chadban, S. J., McDonald, S. P., ... & Shaw, J. E. (2019). Trends in incidence of ESKD in people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes in Australia, 2002-2013. American Journal of Kidney Diseases, 73(3), 300-308. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272638618310850

Litterbach, E., Holmes‐Truscott, E., Pouwer, F., Speight, J., & Hendrieckx, C. (2020). 'I wish my health professionals understood that it's not just all about your HbA1c!'. Qualitative responses from the second Diabetes MILES–Australia (MILES‐2) study. Diabetic Medicine, 37(6), 971-981. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/dme.14199

Siopis, G., Jones, A., & Allman‐Farinelli, M. (2020). The dietetic workforce distribution geographic atlas provides insight into the inequitable access for dietetic services for people with type 2 diabetes in Australia. Nutrition & Dietetics, 77(1), 121-130. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1747-0080.12603

Thompson, S. R., Watson, M. C., & Tilford, S. (2018). The Ottawa Charter 30 years on: Still an important standard for health promotion. International Journal of Health Promotion and Education, 56(2), 73-84. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14635240.2017.1415765

Wood, S. J., Magliano, D. J., Bell, J. S., Shaw, J. E., Keen, C. S., & Ilomäki, J. (2020). Pharmacological treatment initiation for type 2 diabetes in Australia: Are the guidelines being followed?. Diabetic Medicine, 37(8), 1367-1373. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/dme.14149

Remember, at the center of any academic work, lies clarity and evidence. Should you need further assistance, do look up to our Nursing Assignment Help