NIASU Assignment

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Title of your paper

Student Name

Albany State University

NURS3600 Nursing Informatics

Instructor Name

Date of Submission

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Diabetes

Diabetes is a very prevalent issue in today’s world. It affects people of all ages from

pediatrics up to the geriatric population. According to Bullard et al. (2018), “currently 23

million U.S. adults have been diagnosed with diabetes” (p. 359). Diabetes involves a great deal

of self maintenance and care at the hand of the patient and their support system. The purpose of

this brochure is to educate patients on the possible signs and symptoms they may experience

with diabetes and where they can retrieve credible information to assist in educating themselves

on the disease.

Diabetes

There are different types of diabetes and each comes with similar maintenance but

potentially different treatment modalities. Among those affected by the disease there are two

forms that are considered to be the most common and they are known as type 1 and type 2

diabetes (Bullard et al., 2018). Many people will display symptoms of the disease but do not

know that they suffer with it and as a whole people diagnosed with the disease total to over nine

percent of the whole United States population but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

(CDC) give an estimate that 86 million additional people possess some level of pre-diabetes

which means they display blood glucose or hemoglobin A1c levels that are high but not high

enough that they can be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes (Zakowski, 2017).

Extensive testing is done for diabetes and lab work is evaluated and patients are

categorized as one of the different types of diabetics. Zakowski (2017) states, “predominantly,

two testing methods are used to diagnose and monitor diabetes: fasting plasma glucose (FPG or

“glucose”) and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) testing” (p. 14). Hemoglobin A1c is done while

fasting and the American Diabetes Association (ADA) for many years has suggested that

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hemoglobin A1c to provide monitoring for glycemic control for any patient given a diagnosis of

diabetes (Patel & Joksch, 2014).

Treatment for diabetes consists of a proper diet, exercise and many patients diagnosed

with diabetes must take either an oral hypoglycemic or insulin through injection. Following a

treatment modality plays a huge role in whether or not a diabetic patient lives a normal life or

experiences complications with the disease. Mousavizadehet al. (2018) states, “the process of

adherence to treatment was influenced by knowledge and skill, social support, beliefs and values,

psychological characteristics of people, and the nature of diabetes” (p. 150)

The Audience

Diabetes affects people of all ages’ shapes and sizes. The target audience of this

brochure would mainly be older teenagers and adults as they spend a great deal of time on the

internet and many have electronic devices at hand. Many children may read the information yet

some may have difficulty understanding the content or taking interest in it. The hope is that the

parents of younger children with diabetes will take interest in the information provided in an

effort to assist their children with managing the disease.

Improving Health Literacy

Improving what patients know about diabetes and how they learn about the disease will

have positive effects on disease outcomes. Our population is filled with electronic devices and

access to the World Wide Web. When attempting to obtain health information from the internet

we must help our patients to know what a credible source is so that the information they retrieve

will be useful and beneficial to their cause. For instance, a young man in his early twenties is in

the waiting area of his doctor’s office because he needs a health check due to elevated blood

sugars. He would obviously be concerned about his health and as he sits in the lobby it would be

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greatly beneficial if the television in the lobby covered health topics such as diabetes and listed

reliable web pages that he can search on his phone as he sits and waits to gain valuable

information about his disease. Health literacy is directly aligned to improved health outcomes

but only a mere twelve percent of all adults are considered to health literate (May, 2018). May

(2018) states, “the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, Title V, defines health

literacy as the degree to which an individual has the capacity to obtain, communicate, process,

and understand basic health information and services to make appropriate health decisions” (p.

53). Improving the manner in which information is presented, as well as how consumers retrieve

it is what will make the real difference in improving healthcare.

Conclusion

Diabetes is a debilitating disease if not tightly controlled. Proper and ongoing education

is very important to maximize the life quality and length for those suffering with this disease. As

a result, proper education that is easily understood is necessary. It is proven that the type of

lifestyle lived will positively affect genetic outcomes for those affected by diabetes. Existing

studies demonstrate that making healthy lifestyle choices project a meaningful effect in

preventing and treating type 2 diabetes (Brass, 2014). Patel and Joksch (2014) states, “the

Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT)1, a major clinical study, used A1c to follow

more than 1,400 volunteers over a 10-year period and concluded that keeping blood glucose

levels close to normal could delay the onset of associated complications related to eye, kidney,

and nerve damage” (p. 34). Ensuring good health literacy is one step in the overall positive

outcome for those with diabetes.

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References

Brass, L. (2014). Is Diabetes in my genes?. Vibrant Life, 30(4), 17. http://proxygsu-

alb1.galileo.usg.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=c

9h&AN=96970105&site=eds-live&scope=site

Bullard, K., Cowie, C., Lessem, S., Saydah, S., Menke, A., Geiss, L., & ... Imperatore, G. (2018).

Prevalence of diagnosed diabetes in adults by diabetes type - United States, 2016.

MMWR. Morbidity And Mortality Weekly Report, 67(12), 359-361.

doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm6712a2

May, A. J. (2018). Preparing for CCCTM® certification. Diabetes, health literacy, and the

importance of care coordination. MEDSURG Nursing, 27(1), 53-54. http://proxygsu-

alb1.galileo.usg.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rz

h&AN=128049908&site=eds-live&scope=site

Mousavizadeh, S., Ashktorab, T., Ahmadi, F., & Zandi, M. (2018). From negligence to

perception of complexities in adherence to treatment process in people with diabetes: A

grounded theory study. Iranian Journal Of Medical Sciences, 43(2), 150-157.

http://proxygsu-

alb1.galileo.usg.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a

9h&AN=128345764&site=eds-live&scope=site

Patel, N., & Joksch, S. (2014). Diabetes testing in hematology: Is it a solution for your

lab?. MLO: Medical Laboratory Observer, 46(10), 34-38. http://proxygsu-

alb1.galileo.usg.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rz

h&AN=107832315&site=eds-live&scope=site

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Zakowski, J. (2017). Understanding diabetes testing: Where are we, and where are we

going?. MLO: Medical Laboratory Observer, 49(4), 14-21. http://proxygsu-

alb1.galileo.usg.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rz

h&AN=121985717&site=eds-live&scope=site

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it

DIABETES

MELLITUS

Treatment of diabetes includes:

• A healthy diet

• Regular exercise

• Oral medication

• Insulin Therapy

• Blood sugar monitoring

You may have diabetes if….

• You repeatedly have increased

thirst

• You have increased hunger after

eating

• You have frequent urination

• You have unexplained weight

loss

• You feel weak and tired

• You have blurred vision

What to do if you think you

have diabetes……

• Keep a diary of your

symptoms

• Make an appointment with

your doctor

• Listen to your doctors

recommendations

•

What Causes Diabetes?

Your pancreas makes a

hormone called insulin. It's

what lets your cells turn glucose from the foods you eat

into energy. People with type 2

diabetes make their cells don't use it as well as they should.

Doctors call this insulin

resistance. At first, the pancreas

makes more insulin to try to get

glucose into the cells. But

eventually it can't keep up, and the sugar builds up in your

blood instead

Resources to help manage your diabetes:

Center for Disease Control:

https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/ndep/index.html

Federal Drug Administration:

https://www.fda.gov/ForPatients/Illness/Diabetes/d

efault.html

American Diabetes Association: http://www.diabetes.org/

Photos obtained from:

http://photobucket.com/images/diabetes#!