For my health promotion topic, I have chosen to explore the issue of type 2 diabetes prevention amongst high-risk older adults.
To date, I am aware that many older adults are affected by a serious disease called diabetes (National Institue on Aging, 2019). Insufficient insulin use and/or insufficient insulin production is the issue of type 2 diabetes (Diabetes Canada,2022). Gestational diabetes, a diabetic family history, smoking, an inactive lifestyle, and a high BMI are risk factors for type 2 diabetes (National Institute on Aging, 2019). Lightheadedness or dizziness may be caused by blood sugar that is too high or too low which in turn may be caused by diabetes (Sissons, 2021). Kidney failure, blindness, stroke, and heart disease may arise from the chronic health condition of type 2 diabetes thus making prevention critical (Centres for Disease Control, 2022). Slow-healing wounds, skin infections, blurred vision, frequent urination, weight loss, thirst or hunger that is excessive, and fatigue are some common type 2 diabetes symptoms, however, the disease may not be noticed due to the slow development of symptoms (National Institute on Aging, 2019). Diabetes can be diagnosed with different blood tests such as the fasting plasma glucose test or the A1C test (National Institute on Aging, 2019).
For individuals 65 and older in Canada, 18.1% was the documented diabetes prevalence rate in 2020 (Statistics Canada, 2022). “Decades of research have demonstrated that diabetes affects racial and ethnic minority and low-income adult populations disproportionately, with relatively intractable patterns seen in these populations’ higher risk of diabetes and rates of diabetes complications and mortality” (Hill-Briggs et al., 2020, pp.258-279, see also Golden et al., 2012).
In terms of my health promotion learning journey, my learning goals relate to communication skill development, and critical thinking improvement (Ho, 2022). I would like to further develop my understanding of how to effectively convey opinions and pieces of work using proper language and justification while incorporating detailed and methodological analyses depicting original views on issues at hand. I strongly believe that this course will help me to achieve these learning goals through the discussion forums and assignments that require original thinking, critical analyses, and attention to research.
As a strong advocator for improved health, I am most excited to explore the literature to identify and scope out various interventions that have been used for diabetes prevention on different subjects. I am excited to observe the results to see if the intervention was effective. I am also excited to learn about the concept of health equity and the status of health equity in Canada, as I strongly believe that good health should be available to everyone in the absence of discrimination.
I am aware that through research on the topic of diabetes in older adults, I may encounter facts and statistics describing diabetes in relation to young adults in Canada. Being a young adult, this makes me a bit nervous as these facts may expose me to a snapshot of the potential risk that I may have with regard to the development of diabetes.
With respect to my health promotion topic, the accurate selection of a proper evidence-based intervention to address diabetes prevention may serve as a possible challenge. I believe that it may be difficult to decide on the best intervention in accordance with the literature that will accurately and effectively address the needs of my target population with minimal to no chance of negative outcomes. This will be a challenge as there are many different needs that need to be taken into account when working with older populations, and not addressing certain needs can affect outcomes.
In relation to my health promotion topic, I would like to learn more about the physiological effects of diabetes because I am keen on learning about the human body and the way it functions in response to disease. I would also like to learn more about the physiological effects of other chronic diseases such as cancer. In addition, I would like to learn more about the social determinants of health, as the health of vulnerable populations are greatly impacted by these determinants (Bernazzani, 2016).
References
Bernazzani, S. (2016). The importance of considering the social determinants of health.
https://www.ajmc.com/view/the-importance-of-considering-the-social-determinants-of-health
Centres for Disease Control. (2022). On your way to preventing type 2
diabetes. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/prevent-type-2/guide-prevent-type2-
diabetes.html#:~:text=Why%20is%20prevention%20so%20important,for%20all%20those%20other%20conditions.
Diabetes Canada. (2022). Type 2 diabetes. https://www.diabetes.ca/about-diabetes/type-2
Golden, S. H., Brown, A., Cauley, J. A., Chin, M. H., Gary-Webb, T. L., Kim, C., Sosa, J. A.,
Sumner, A. E., & Anton, B. (2012). Health disparities in endocrine disorders: biological,
clinical, and nonclinical factors—an endocrine society scientific statement. The Journal of
Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 97(9), E1579–E1639.
https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.2012-2043
Hill-Briggs, F., Adler, N. E., Berkowitz, S. A., Chin, M. H., Gary-Webb, T. L., Navas-Acien, A.,
Thornton, P. L., & Haire-Joshu, D. (2020). Social determinants of health and diabetes: a
scientific review. Diabetes Care, 44(1), 258-279. https://doi.org/10.2337/dci20-0053
Ho, L. (2022). 12 Learning goals for personal growth and self development.
National Institute on Aging. (2019). Diabetes in older people.
Sissons, B. (2021). Type 2 diabetes and dizziness.
Statistics Canada. (2022). Diabetes, by age group.
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