Introduction
Diabetes is a chronic disease that requires specific treatment and appropriate self-management actions. Over the past years, the evidence-based practice proved the importance of individual dietary patterns, nutrients, and foods in the management of diabetes and the prevention of complications. It is noted that self-management is known to be a key aspect in the treatment of diabetes, and patients often need to be educated to get knowledge and skills which are required on the everyday basis to manage this specific condition (Goyal et al., 2016). The purpose of this paper is to develop evidence-based management and a plan for a patient with diabetes type 2 and describe health promotion and possible follow-up.
Evidence-Based Management Plan
The complaints of the patient about weakness and numbness in the left foot are related to her gestational diabetes, which might develop over the years because of her unhealthy lifestyle. The patient is a hard smoker and drinks a lot, which provoked complications. Some researchers note that patients with high glucose levels in blood or diabetes type 2 who do not have glycemic control daily usually find it difficult to understand the benefits of lifestyle modifications and diabetes-management activities (Goyal et al., 2016). The patient also has other symptoms of developing diabetes type 2 such as thirstiness, frequent urination, and weight gain. It is stated that “lifestyle intervention involving calorie-restriction and exercise to promote weight loss, as demonstrated in the Diabetes Prevention Program, significantly reduced conversion to diabetes among high-risk patients with impaired glucose tolerance by 58%” (Ley, Hamdy, Mohan, & Hu, 2014, p. 1999).
The evidence-based management plan for this patient should include such aspects as a proper diet to control a high concentration of glucose in the blood. It is stated that “educating a person with diabetes to use GI and GL as tools is generally supported by various organizations to improve glycemic control” (Ley et al., 2014, p. 2001). Smoking and excessive alcohol consumption are also inappropriate for a patient with the symptoms of developing diabetes mellitus type 2.
It is also advisable to prescribe medications to decrease high blood pressure to avoid further microvascular and cardiovascular complications. Thus, the intervention should include decreasing fat and caloric consumption to improve the overall quality of nutrition. The dietary patterns can be chosen according to the patient’s preferences. The patient should also get the daily norm of all required vitamins and minerals. Ley et al. (2014) note that the Mediterranean diet is beneficial for glycemic control.
Patient Education Plan
It is a general opinion that educational activities for patients with diabetes are impersonal, infrequent, and difficult to apply in everyday life. Thus, patients fail to understand guidelines and functional dynamics which is common for glycemic control. Some researchers emphasize that “the self-management tools currently available are didactic and do not provide patients with the personalized and actionable knowledge needed to participate in routine self-care” (Goyal et al., 2016, p. 96).
Diabetes self-management is considered to be an education plan that allows patients to obtain skills and knowledge which are required for diabetes self-care. Thus, the patient should receive appropriate education to understand her condition and control it. This type of health education should be focused on the particular needs of the patients. Such education is acknowledged to be cost-effective since it decreases readmissions to the hospital. It also lowers lifetime costs related to health care due to complications. Powers at al. (2015) note that self-management education “has a positive effect on other clinical, psychosocial, and behavioral aspects of diabetes” (p. 1323). Therefore, it is possible to state that such education greatly assists in reducing complications related to diabetes, improving life quality, and healthy behaviors due to the promotion of beneficial food patterns and regular exercises. It also decreases depression and stress related to diabetes burden and enhances empowerment and self-efficiency. It is crucial to ensure effective collaboration and communication between an educator, a health care provider, and a person with diabetes to reach positive results. An educator should take into account such aspects as the cultural and social status of the patient, as well as the patient’s age.
Health Care Maintenance Needs
Health promotion and health care maintenance needs should include explaining the benefits of quitting smoking, which is a very expansive and unhealthy habit. To prevent unexpected complications, the referral to an endocrinologist would be beneficial. It is also advisable to recommend a patient to utilize mobile applications which might assist in controlling the glucose level in blood. It is also noted that “mobile phone-based telemedicine has proven to be an effective approach for information exchange and for providing feed-back between patients and their caregivers” (Goyal et al., 2016, p. 96). It might improve the quality of follow up activities to control how successfully the patient follows the prescribed treatment.
Conclusion
The paper dealt with the case study related to diabetes mellitus type 2 development in a 42-year-old woman with an unhealthy lifestyle. The proposed evidence-based management plan included proper diet and prescription of vitamins and minerals and medications to control blood pressure. The educative plan included recommendations on food patterns and a healthy lifestyle. Health promotion included recommendations to quit smoking and decrease alcohol consumption. Recommended follow up includes mobile phone-based telemedicine.
References
Goyal, S., Morita, P., Lewis, G. F., Yu, C., Seto, E., & Cafazzo, J. A. (2016). The systematic design of a behavioural mobile health application for the self-management of type 2 diabetes. Canadian Journal of Diabetes, 40(1), 95-104.
Ley, S. H., Hamdy, O., Mohan, V., & Hu, F. B. (2014). Prevention and management of type 2 diabetes: Dietary components and nutritional strategies. The Lancet, 383(9933), 1999-2007.
Powers, M. A., Bardsley, J., Cypress, M., Duker, P., Funnell, M. M., Fischl, A. H., & Vivian, E. (2015). Diabetes self-management education and support in type 2 diabetes: A joint position statement of the American Diabetes Association, the American Association of Diabetes Educators, and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 115(8), 1323-1334.