Introduction
Lately, diabetes became one of the most prevalent health issues in the world. There is an opinion that it happens because of the changing patterns in nutrition and the lack of willingness to engage in physical exercises (Trief et al., 2013). Nonetheless, there may also be a necessity to approach this issue from racial disparities. In this research project, the student will address the implications of diabetes for African American patients and review the possible ways of treating it.
Definition
To start with, diabetes can be defined as a severe condition that can affect the entire body of any given patient. One of the most characteristic traits of this disease is the fact that it requires never-ending, daily self-care that has to be maintained. In the case, if complications develop, diabetes may seriously influence life expectancy and impact the overall patient’s quality of life (Trief et al., 2013). It is also vital to know that even though there is no cure for diabetes but one can live a happy life while effectively managing the symptoms of diabetes. There are three main types of diabetes: type 1, type 2, and gestational.
Epidemiology
One of the main concepts that have to be addressed when it comes to type 2 diabetes in African Americans is their high risk to be affected by this disease. African American genomic individualities and the prevalence of obesity are the main contributors to their low resistance to diabetes (Trief et al., 2013). Epidemiology of diabetes also suggests that poor glycemic control may cause quite a few complications that are also supported by racial disparities in the healthcare processes.
Clinical Presentation
The mildest form of type 2 diabetes can be prevented by the detection of glycosuria. Also, the presence of hyperglycemia may be a decent factor that contributes to the clinical presentation of diabetes. Weight variations should also be expected when dealing with diabetes in African American patients. The latter can also display the presence of ketonuria. One of the problems with the clinical presentation of diabetes in general consists of the fact that type 1 and type 2 cannot be distinguished until the insulin requirement transpires.
Complications
The presence of diabetes may provoke several complications such as an increase in the levels of blood sugar and blood glucose. This may cause issues related to body functions (including nerves, eyes, and kidneys) (Kokkinos et al., 2012). Some other complications include joint disorders and a higher risk of being exposed to heart disease. Importantly, diabetes may also impact skin health and cause problems with teeth. Certain medicines or infections can cause emergency situations that may subsequently lead to a person’s death.
Diagnosis
A diabetes diagnosis can be made by means of the fasting plasma glucose test. Also, one of the most prevalent options is the use of the A1C test (Kokkinos et al., 2012). The random plasma glucose (RPG) test can also be used to test blood for the level of glucose. Sometimes, the RPG test is necessary to find if there are any serious diabetes symptoms before the disease develops.
Conclusion with PICOT Question
The investigation of the implementation of education-based assistance for African American patients with diabetes may be necessary. By means of this program, any healthcare facility will be able to cope with the problem of racial disparities and improve the health status of African American patients.
PICOT: (P) In elderly patients with chronic diseases, (I) do patient education intervention, (C) compared with only medication treatments, (O) increase their health knowledge and improve their health status (T) in a period of 6 months?
References
Kokkinos, P., Myers, J., Faselis, C., Doumas, M., Kheirbek, R., & Nylen, E. (2012). BMI–mortality paradox and fitness in African American and Caucasian men with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care, 35(5), 1021-1027.
Trief, P. M., Izquierdo, R., Eimicke, J. P., Teresi, J. A., Goland, R., Palmas, W.,… & Weinstock, R. S. (2013). Adherence to diabetes self-care for white, African-American and Hispanic American telemedicine participants: 5-year results from the IDEATel project. Ethnicity & Health, 18(1), 83-96.