Background
The statistic report shows that nearly 1 million Australians have diabetes mellitus type 2. The disease dominates among males than among females. According to the Heart and Diabetes Institute (2012), “Australia is ranked 7th highest in the world for the prevalence of type 1 diabetes in children aged 0-14 years and 6th highest for incidence” (p. 3). Such a situation hurts health issues in Australia because the disease is associated with a great number of complications influencing the kidneys, eyes, and cardiovascular system. Australians affected by diabetes suffer from end-stage kidney disease.
The patients suffering from the disease have the highest death rate because of cardiovascular disease (DiabCost Australia 2002). The Indigenous population of Australia possesses a higher level of inclination for diabetes as compared to the non-native population.
Introduction
To face the challenge, the government should take the corresponding measures to avert the critical situation. Adopting a healthy lifestyle requires governmental support and public assistance. Therefore, it is highly necessary to inform about the new intake of public officer’s trainees that can change the situation for the better.
Current Issues
To hire the assistant public health professional to face the diabetes pandemic, specific attention should be given to costs and budgeting. In particular, the government should report on the following information:
- Direct expenditures on the health care system;
- Out-of-pocket costs spent by people suffering from the disease;
- Availability of community resources.
- Influence of diabetes on social welfare and quality of life (DiabCost Australia 2002);
To understand the number of costs and the number of people to be hired, it is necessary to conduct a cross-sectional survey to define the following information:
- Quality of life in Australia;
- Demographics;
- Expenditures incurred by patient’s nurses;
- Use of health services.
In 2002, DiabCost Australia (2002) presented a survey questionnaire to 25.000 people with diabetes mellitus type 2. The participants were randomly selected from databases to define the level of their responsiveness, as well as complications that the disease causes for other organs. The results of the questionnaire showed that the costs spent on struggling with diabetes were considerably underestimated.
Further research studies relate to the analysis of similar practices that have been conducted in other countries, where the burden of diabetes mellitus is tangible as well. At this point, the studies by Satterfield et al. (2004) have verified that cross-section assets do not always objectively improve the public outcomes for the communities. Similar to these studies, McCredie (2006) has also approved that the diabetes mellitus spread can have negative consequences for the public health sector.
Reference to the economic and social model of handling diabetes could also be effective for developing specialized therapeutic programs for patients. At this point, Colagiuri and Walker (2008) have stated, “initially, treatment costs are higher under the scenario because more people with diagnosed diabetes are being treated as a result of the screening program” (p. 263). Therefore, earlier detection of diabetes is much more beneficial in terms of costs saved, as well as in terms of the number of patients suffering from the disease.
There is an urgent need to react to the out-of-control spread of disease. The focus should be on the consciousness of the public mind, as well as on researchers and practitioners, media publications, and influential politicians (Barr et al. 2005). Assessing and understanding societal and economic concerns with diabetes and its consequences will allow us to define further directions for developing families, employment, and society in general.
Allocation of costs should also be among the primary concerns of the policy-makers because it presents the basis support of all health care reforms. Understanding the exact amount of costs that should be spent on diabetes prevention will contribute significantly to efficient planning (Barr et al. 2005). Estimating socio-economic and demographic data will allow the new practitioners to learn more about the percentage of people suffering from diabetes, as well as how they are affected by socioeconomic factors and by the public response to the issue.
Conclusion
About the above-presented situation, it is highly necessary to inform the health officer trainees about the main constraints and challenges that should be considered to handle the problem of diabetes pandemic.
Table expanding on the Points Raised in the Briefing Paper.
Reference List
Barr, E, Cameron, A, and Zimmet, P 2005, The Australian Diabetes Obesity and Lifestyle Study (AusDiab). Five Year Follow-up Results for New South Wales, International Diabetes Institute, pp. 1-41. Web.
Colagiuri, S, & Walker, A 2008, ‘Using an economic model of diabetes to evaluate prevention and care strategies in Australia’, Health Affairs, vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 256-268.
DiabCost Australia 2002, Assessing the Burden of Type 2 Diabetes in Australia, Australian Diabetes Society-Australian Diabetes Educators Association Annual Scientific Meeting. pp. 1-27.
Heart & Diabetes Institute 2012, Diabetes: The Silent Pandemic and Its Impact on Australia. Web.
McCredie, M 2006, ‘Divergent trends in the incidence of end-stage renal disease due to Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes in Europe, Canada and Australia during 1998–2002’, Diabetic Medicine, vol. 23, no. 12, pp. 1364-1369.
Satterfield, D, Murphy, D, Essien, J, Hosey, G, Stankus, M, Hoffman, P, Beartusk, K, Mitchell, P, & Alfaro-Correa, A 2004, ‘Using the essential public health services as strategic leverage to strengthen the public health response to diabetes’, Public Health Reports, vol. 119, no. 3, pp. 311-321.