Introduction
The current paper dwells on the elaboration of a care plan for type 2 diabetes patients. This chronic illness has been chosen for the reason that mortality rates connected to type 2 diabetes grow bigger with every other year (Zinman et al., 2015). The researcher picked a sample of older adults due to the fact that in these patients type 2 diabetes is most evident and is recognized easily. Healthy People 2020 goals are aimed at the decrease in diabetes patients and expenditures linked to this chronic illness in order to guarantee the safety of those patients who are at risk (Koh, Blakey, & Roper, 2014). Speaking of type 2 diabetes, Healthy People 2020 is also aimed at the development in terms of diagnosis, circumvention, and assessment of health indicators. In addition, it emphasizes the importance of diabetes patients receiving a decent diabetes education. To accomplish the objectives of reducing the prevalence of the illness and its adverse influence, Healthy People 2020 is designed in a way which presupposes intensive approaches that involve society, interventions adjusted for individuals, and statutory arrangements.
Brief Summary
During the first week, the author found that it was important to pay attention not only to the increasing number of type 2 diabetes but also to the illnesses that are connected to it and have a major impact on the patients’ health. The author also found that there was no possibility to define a single approach that would be suitable for all the patients. It has been found that comorbidity was the main source of significant outcomes for diabetes care and accompanying expenditures. The most important finding of the first week was that comorbidities, when taken into consideration together with diabetes, doubled the risk of death among type 2 diabetes patients across the United States.
One of the key findings of the second week was that type 2 diabetes patients belonging to the high-risk group had to be guided through a transformation process. This had to be done due to the fact that these patients were found to disregard nutritional patterns (consumed too much food) and did not limit their alcohol intake. The author was able to single out several socio-economic factors which had the most powerful impact on the patients’ health. Another key finding consisted in the fact that efficient intervention strategies could only be elaborated when the medical experts were able to realize the discouraging challenges that people with the symptoms of type 2 diabetes were usually struggling with.
The third week was marked by the acquaintance with the basic resources for patients with diabetes. These three resources are the National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity (NANA), American Diabetes Association (ADA), and Healthy People 2020. The first is working closely with numerous disease control centers with the intention of encouraging people to switch to healthier food more actively. The second association is in charge of providing type 2 diabetes patients, diabetes instructors, and clinicians with the necessary educational materials. The third, Healthy People 2020, is accountable for the reduction of the diabetes mellitus (which is one of the most important issues when it comes to diabetes) and improvement of the quality of life for the diabetes mellitus patients.
The fourth week allowed the researcher to find the ways that could help to reduce the probability of being exposed to type 2 diabetes. This approach included finding more evidence concerning type 2 diabetes interventions and conveying it to the patients because patient education is a necessity of the first order. Another support need reviewed throughout week 4 was the dietary assessment. It is beneficial because it can assist in averting the progress of type 2 diabetes in the patients. High-risk patients should be assessed recurrently (glucose and blood pressure). This approach is of great importance to the doctors/ nurses because they can interpret the outcomes and evaluate the risks by means of it. The author found that peer support was rather important for the chronically ill patients.
Care Plan
Nursing Diagnoses
There are four main nursing diagnoses that are reviewed in this paper. The first one is the risk of infection. Excessive glucose level can be the key premise to the appearance of an infection. Moreover, fluctuations in the motion of leukocytes should also be monitored (Bogner, Morales, Vries, & Cappola, 2012). Existing respiratory or urinary tract infection can also be considered to be a risk factor. The second risk is an imbalanced diet. This risk usually transpires when the nutritional requirements of the patient’s body are not satisfied (Ali, 2013). The next risk is the risk for disturbed sensory perception. This includes involuntary transformations in the patient’s mental state and disorders regarding the visual and tangible discernment. The last risk is the risk for activity intolerance. In most of the cases, this risk is represented by muscle weakness in diabetes patients.
Assessment Data
The subjective assessment data is represented by the patient’s medical and surgical history. The author of the research also pays close attention to the family history of the patient and the implications of the patient’s social history. The author considers the current medicines, drug abuse, alcohol intake, caffeine addiction, allergies, and level of physical activity to be the most important aspects of the subjective assessment.
The objective assessment of the patient comprises the data that the nurse/ doctor observes or assesses on the follow-up appointments. In this case, the objective assessment encompassed vital signs and indicators (for instance, the results of the assessment showed that the weight of the majority of the patients is not within the normal limits). Moreover, the author paid attention to the findings from physical checkups. Cardiac and respiratory systems were thoroughly evaluated (severe shortness of breath has been identified in the majority of the patients). The author connected the outcomes of the assessment to the type 2 diabetes.
Interview Results
The results of the interview showed that the patients were not rather literate in terms of type 2 diabetes and its adverse impact on human body. Moreover, the interview showed that the patients were not aware of the premises of their diabetes either (Turner & Nartey, 2016). The patients behaved appropriately and showed interest in the interviews. Moreover, one of the key findings of the interview was that type 2 diabetes is inextricably linked to such health problems as dyspnea and obesity. In addition, the interview revealed a positive tendency between diabetes and cardiac issues (Zinman et al., 2015).
Desired Outcomes
The author expects to find ways to decrease the risk of mortality and lessen the number of type 2 diabetes patients by means of a number of interventions. Another important outcome is improved nutritional pattern in obese patients (Bogner et al., 2012). The researcher expects to increase patients’ activity and their awareness regarding the negative consequences of ignoring basic health requirements.
Evaluation Criteria
The researcher is going to evaluate the sample on the basis of a number of specific factors. First, the researcher is going to perform daily checkups. This activity would include measuring patients’ heart rate. Another activity is the daily weighing of the patient (Ali, 2013). By doing this, the researcher expects to follow the tendencies in the cardiac activity and nutritional transformation. Another criterion that is going to be one of the cornerstones of this research is the patients’ mental state. The researcher will monitor the patients in order to identify any signs of mental deviations or progress made by the patients (Zinman et al., 2015).
Actions and Interventions
First, the researcher would try to manage the risk of infection. The key activity would be to detect the indications of contamination or soreness. The researcher would certify that adequate hygiene is displayed by the patients (Narayan, 2011). The researcher expects to maintain sterility and provide the necessary care for the patients’ skin (for instance, there is a need to keep the patients’ skin dry). The researcher is going to prescribe required antibiotics.
Second, the researcher would manage the risk for imbalanced nutrition. The researcher would weigh the patients on a daily basis, get a nutritional recall, and relate it to the present food consumption. The sounds coming from intestines would also be carefully assessed (Narayan, 2011). The acts of distress in the intestinal area, unsettled stomach, and diarrhea would be documented. The researcher is going to perform glucose testing. The intake of insulin will also be managed by the researcher.
Third, the researcher is going to address the risk for disturbed sensory perception. The key objective of this intervention is to monitor the mental state and other dynamic indicators regarding the patients’ status (Narayan, 2011). The researcher expects to involve the patients in various daily activities and guarantee that there is a fixed schedule for cluster nursing.
Fourth, the risk for activity intolerance is going to be addressed. The intervention would include recurrent checks of the patients’ muscle strength before and after the medicine prescription (Narayan, 2011). This intervention is intended to motivate the patients to participate in the illness management more actively.
Strategy
The key strategy that should be implemented along with the enumerated interventions is the constant provision of emotional and psychological support for the patients. This is an obligatory point for the reason that the caregiver and the patient’s family are usually the last bastions of hope for the patient. In conjunction with physical exercise and other interventions, peer support should become an integral part of the daily treatment plan for the reason that it is based on the patients’ desire to transform their life for the better. To conclude, the strategy that involves emotional support would be beneficial for type 2 diabetes patients, and the researcher expects to see positive outcomes.
Evaluation of Patient Outcomes
The outcomes will be evaluated on the basis of the health conditions of the patients. This would include the success of proposed interventions and changes in patients’ lifestyle. The researcher also expects to evaluate the patients’ vital signs and their awareness concerning type 2 diabetes. The key objective of the evaluation is to increase the patients’ knowledge in the area of their disease and improve their state significantly in terms of physical indicators.
References
Ali, M. (2013). A new approach in type 2 diabetes mellitus treatment: Evaluation of the beneficial effect of L-cysteine in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. New York, NY: Anchor Academic Publishing.
Bogner, H. R., Morales, K. H., Vries, H. F., & Cappola, A. R. (2012). Integrated management of type 2 diabetes mellitus and depression treatment to improve medication adherence: A randomized controlled trial. The Annals of Family Medicine, 10(1), 15-22.
Koh, H. K., Blakey, C. R., & Roper, A. Y. (2014). Healthy People 2020: A report card on the health of the nation. JAMA, 311(24), 2475-2476.
Narayan, K. (2011). Diabetes public health: From data to policy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Turner, L., & Nartey, D. (2016). Ambulatory treatment of type 2 diabetes in the U.S. Diabetes Care, 39(11), 985-992.
Zinman, B., Wanner, C., Lachin, J. M., Fitchett, D., Bluhmki, E., Hantel, S.,… Inzucchi, S. E. (2015). Empagliflozin, cardiovascular outcomes, and mortality in type 2 diabetes. New England Journal of Medicine, 373(22), 2117-2128.