Introduction
Chronic diseases affect the quality of life in many communities across the United States. Diabetes is a chronic health condition that results in significant societal, financial, individual, and economic burden (“Florida Diabetes Advisory Council”, 2017). Patients affected by the chronic condition have increased chances of having stroke, heart disease, and early blindness (Johnson & Melton, 2016). Recent findings have indicated that diabetes is a major cause of lower-limp amputations and kidney failure. This has become a major health concern because the number of people affected by the terminal condition has increased to over 11.2 percent. This discussion examines how the quality of life in Florida correlates with diabetes. A powerful program for dealing with diabetes in children is also proposed.
Quality of Life: Assets and Problems
It is agreeable that diabetes has affected the lives of many citizens in Florida. Citizens from minority racial groups such as Hispanics and African Americans are more likely to develop this chronic disease. Gestational diabetes is also a major health concern affecting many pregnant women in the state. This kind of diabetes is known “to increase the risks of obese infants and birth complications” (Vahidi, Shahmirzadi, Shojaeizadeh, Haghani, & Nikpour, 2015, p. 184).
The state has implemented a number of programs to support the welfare of its citizens. The state provides adequate financial resources to ensure people can deal with the condition. Consequently, such initiatives have paid off since more people with diabetes continue to live longer (“Florida Diabetes Advisory Council”, 2017). The provision of new resources is a powerful move that is making it easier for diabetic patients to receive timely health support. For example, many communities have access to clean playing environments, diabetes prevention campaigns, and health promotion initiatives. Unfortunately, numerous problems continue to affect the health outcomes of many people. For example, the state lacks adequate resources to address the needs of underserved populations. Additionally, the programs implemented in the state to support the welfare and health needs of children are inadequate.
Potential Sources of Quality of Life Information: Social Indicators for Assessment
The first source that can be used to analyze the quality of life in the targeted community is health. The health status of a community dictates the citizens’ quality of life. Some of the social indicators that can be studied using this source include infant mortality, life expectancy, and access to quality medical services (Vahidi et al., 2015). These details can be used to identify the existing health gaps and offer powerful interventions.
The second vital source of quality of information is the productive activity of an individual in a particular community. The career or job of a person can be used to measure his or her quality of life. The key social indicators that can be examined using this source include workplace safety, work-life balance, and working houses (“Florida Diabetes Advisory Council”, 2017). These social indicators can be used adequately to analyze a person’s quality of life.
A person’s success or progress in life can be determined by his or her level of education. Johnson and Melton (2016) believe strongly that education dictates a person’s job and ability to tackle various challenges affecting his or her family. The major social indicators provided by this source include lifelong learning, education attainment, and knowledge. These indicators can be used to understand the quality of an individual’s life.
Adults and children who engage in leisure and sporting activities will record higher life satisfaction levels (Sheeladevi, Sagar, Pujari, & Rani, 2014). Sporting and leisure activities should never be ignored as an important source whenever monitoring a person’s quality of life. These activities influence his or her health outcomes. Social indicators that can be studied using this source include the presence of amenities and avenues. The cultural events and sporting activities embraced in a specific community can also be studied using this source.
The fifth source of quality of life information is the surrounding environment. This happens to be the case because a community’s quality of life is dictated by the environmental aspects such as air, pollution, and security (“Florida Diabetes Advisory Council”, 2017). The social indicators deduced from this source include safety, amount of air or water pollutants, and availability of health services.
Implementing a Health Program in Florida
The proposed health program targets school-age children in Florida. The demographics of the target group explain why powerful measures are needed to deal with the problem of obesity in the state. The number of children below the age of 18 diagnosed with diabetes has been growing steadily (Sheeladevi et al., 2014). This chronic disease also affects a similar number of adults in the United States. Over 9 percent of children have been observed to be obese in the state. Statistics also indicate that African American and Hispanic children are widely affected by this health problem. This development is widely attributed to lower family income and education attainment levels. That being the case, the health program is aimed at addressing the problem of diabetes in this target group.
Health Program From a Journal Article
The article “Effect of a School-Based Intervention on Parents’ Nutrition and Exercise Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviors” outlines a powerful health intervention program that can address the problem of diabetes. According to the authors, the number of people suffering from type 2 diabetes might increase by 50 percent within the next two decades (Rausch, Berger-Jenkins, Nieto, McCord, & Meyer, 2015, p. 33). The best program aimed at tackling the problem of diabetes should have a sharp focus on its main causes. Additionally, the problem of obesity should be considered because of its connection with diabetes. The proposed health program is called Coordinated School Health Program (CSHP). The program focuses on the needs of school-going children (Rausch et al., 2015). The program is designed to educate more children about the importance of physical activities, positive healthy behaviors, and nutrition. The interventions can address the leading causes of diabetes such as poor eating habits, lack of exercises, and risk of obesity. With effective implementation, more parents can promote and guide their children to engage in healthy behaviors and eating practices (Rausch et al., 2015). The developed parental behaviors can address the health needs of children from minority groups.
Personnel and Supplies
Parents and guardians should be included in the program to support the health outcomes of their children. The premise of the health program is that the wellness of small children will reduce the number of adults with diabetes in the future. Social workers, educationists, and healthcare practitioners will also be required to support the program (Johnson & Melton, 2016). Teachers and volunteers will be empowered to teach more parents about the best health promotion practices.
The right supplies should be acquired to support the campaign. Some of these supplies will include finances, writing materials, books, and health promotion posters. The program will attract the attention of different agencies in Florida such as the Department of Health, the Diabetes Advisory Council, and the Agency for Health Care Administration (Sheeladevi et al., 2014). These stakeholders will work together to improve the health status of every underserved child. The above sources for quality of life information will also be examined to support the health needs of children. Medicines and insulin will be acquired to support the health outcomes of obese children in the community.
Supply Budget
The ultimate goal of the program is to address the problem of diabetes in Florida. To record positive results, a suitable supply budget will be required for the community and target population. The program will require around 20,000 US dollars. This amount will be used to purchase the required supplies such as insulin and educational materials for every community. School heads in the targeted community will be requested to support the program (Vahidi et al., 2015). Well-wishers and volunteers will be encouraged to support the program.
Concluding Remarks
The ideas gained from the above article can be used to support the proposed health promotion program. The intervention targets minority groups such as Asian Americans, African Americans, and Latinos. The pioneers of the campaign can focus on various sources of quality of life information such as education, health, career, sporting activities, and environmental conditions (Johnson & Melton, 2016). The provision of the right supplies such as insulin, drugs, and learning materials will improve the health outcomes of many children. Effective management of the program will eventually tackle the problem of childhood diabetes.
References
Florida Diabetes Advisory Council. (2017). Florida Diabetes Report. Web.
Johnson, N., & Melton, S. (2016). Perceived benefits and barriers to the diabetes prevention program. The Plaid Journal, 2(1), 16-24.
Rausch, J., Berger-Jenkins, E., Nieto, A., McCord, M., & Meyer, D. (2015). Effect of a school-based intervention on parents’ nutrition and exercise knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. American Journal of Health Education, 46(1), 33-39.
Sheeladevi, S., Sagar, J., Pujari, S., & Rani, P. (2014). Impact of a district-wide diabetes prevention programme involving health education for children and the community. Health Education Journal, 73(4), 363-369.
Vahidi, S., Shahmirzadi, S., Shojaeizadeh, D., Haghani, H., & Nikpour, S. (2015). The effect of an educational program based on the health belief model on self-efficacy among patients with type 2 diabetes was referred to the Iranian Diabetes Association in 2014. Journal of Diabetes Mellitus, 5(1), 181-189.