Ways of Reducing Diabetes in a Community

Diabetes continues to be a potentially fatal condition that affects people from all socioeconomic levels. However, because of a number of circumstances, those from poorer socioeconomic backgrounds are more likely to develop the illness. On time diagnosis and the inclusion of suitable therapies, the disease can be treated and managed. However, people from a vulnerable population have trouble getting access to the right care, which makes it impossible to solve the issue. In essence, vulnerable groups lack the means to get access to high-quality care that will help them manage the condition. High poverty rates among Hispanics increase their chance of developing diabetes-related complications. The adoption of viable methods of reduction of diabetes is critical in helping address the condition among the vulnerable population with a focus on Hispanics.

Ways of Reducing Diabetes in a Community

Diabetes is a lifestyle disease. The people affected need to adopt a healthy lifestyle for them to be able to deal with the condition. Type 2 diabetes stands out as the most common form and presents the greatest challenge when it comes to management. Regardless, it is imperative to develop measures through which the condition can be reduced. Consequently, the vulnerable population will be able to apply the identified methods to reduce diabetes.

The first approach regards conducting a campaign in the community on the need to engage in the more physical activity. The decision to exercise is essential since it helps the vulnerable people in the community reduce the overall blood sugar. Thus, the body will not be strained to convert the sugar into energy as most of it is utilized in the physical activity (Dunkley, Bodicoat, Greaves, Russell, Yates, Davies, & Khunti, 2014). Thus, the community members need to embrace the concept of physical activity since it will be helpful in enabling them to deal with the accumulated sugars in their system. In addition, the physical activity will promote the sensitivity of the insulin hence helping maintain the blood sugar at a normal range. Hence, the vulnerable community should embrace the idea of physical exercise since it will assist in the reduction of diabetes.

The vulnerable community must equally take the initiative of changing their diet to help in the reduction of diabetes. For example, it is vital for the people to take food that is rich in fiber since it promotes the control of blood sugar. A campaign should be conducted in the community to encourage the people to take meals that have fiber because of the benefits that they present with. For example, they should take foods including fruits, beans, vegetables, and beans because of the impact they have on the reduction of weight. Hence, the people will be able to reduce diabetes to manageable levels.

Further, the risk of diabetes increase when an individual is a smoker. Therefore, the reduction of diabetes amongst the vulnerable population depends on the ability of people quitting the smoking habit because of the impact it has on their health. In essence, type 2 diabetes has been linked to smoking. In addition, smokers have been identified to be 50% more likely to develop diabetes compared to those who do not. Therefore, individuals among the vulnerable population who smoke should quit since it will help them in reducing the chances of developing the condition. Thus the adoption of the identified measures is essential in helping patients deal with diabetes in the community.

Link of Diabetes to Diet and Other Factors

As indicated earlier, diabetes is a lifestyle disease. The foods taken by individuals have a significant impact on the possibility of one developing the condition. In particular, the identified community is defined by poor people and a high rate of prevalence of diabetes. The community with the vulnerable population has a limited choice of the type of foods that they are able to access. For example, considering their poor status, they have a low income, hence cannot access foods that could help in the reduction of diabetes. Instead, the poor people are left with no choice but to access foods rich in unhealthy fat that exposes them to increased chances of suffering from diabetes. In particular, the community is forced to take meals that predispose them to the development of diabetes. Notably, the foods taken are rich in sugars. Therefore, the insulin activity is affected since it is overwhelmed by the need to convert the excess sugars to energy.

Other factors that may result in an increase in the prevalence of diabetes is a lack of awareness. For example, considering the poverty levels of the people in the community, most of them do not have access to educational materials (Clark, & Utz, 2014). Further, they are not aware of the existing health programs that educate about diabetes and how to deal with the condition. Eventually, such individuals are predisposed to an increase in the chance of developing diabetes due to ignorance. Consequently, it is vital to embrace a program where the vulnerable population can be educated on how they can deal with the condition and protect themselves from the adverse effects it is associated with.

Furthermore, the poverty levels adversely affect the ability of the vulnerable population to manage the condition. In essence, with a significant percentage of the people lacking adequate income, access to proper healthcare is affected. In addition, the population is not able to get medication that is essential in helping with the management of the condition. Hence, it is a challenge for the community to adequately contain the disease because of the poverty levels they are facing.

Lack of Insurance, Immigrant nature and Poor Education and Impact on Diabetes

The proper management of diabetes depends on the ability to access information and health insurance to get quality care. However, the vulnerable population lacks insurance, they are immigrants and are poorly educated. The lack of insurance means the Hispanic people cannot get healthcare from better hospitals (Do, & Matsuyama, 2014). Therefore, they are bound to suffer from the adverse effects associated with the condition. Also, the immigrant nature means that the people in the community live in fear of encountering the authorities. Hence, the people would rather suffer from the condition without seeking help. Finally, language barrier combined with the poor educational levels means there is a challenge of access to information. Consequently, the people are unable to understand how best to deal with the condition with regard to prevention and management.

In conclusion, diabetes is a disease that is of global health concern. Thus, efforts measures must be adopted to help in its prevention. The vulnerable population is at risk of suffering from because of lack of education and poverty levels. Hence, it is vital to come up with strategies that are cheap and affordable to help the people in dealing with the condition.









References

Clark, M. L., & Utz, S. W. (2014). Social determinants of type 2 diabetes and health in the United States. World journal of diabetes, 5(3), 296.

Do, E. K., & Matsuyama, R. K. (2014). Healthcare utilization among Hispanic immigrants with diabetes: investigating the effect of US documentation status. Journal of immigrant and minority health, 16(2), 189-194.

Dunkley, A. J., Bodicoat, D. H., Greaves, C. J., Russell, C., Yates, T., Davies, M. J., & Khunti, K. (2014). Diabetes prevention in the real world: effectiveness of pragmatic lifestyle interventions for the prevention of type 2 diabetes and of the impact of adherence to guideline recommendations. Diabetes care, 37(4), 922-933.