Prevalence of Diabetes Mellitus among Patients - Essay Example

Problem, Search and Selection Issue selected: prevalence of diabetes mellitus among patients Background: Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder that is characterized by hyperglycaemia (a high level of blood glucose). This results from a direct lack of insulin, or an insulin effect, or both. According to the World Health Organization, about 150 million had diabetes by the year 2006 and it is estimated that the number could rise to 333 million patients by the year 2050 (Williams & Wilkins, 2006). In Australia, the problem of diabetes mellitus is persistent, with results from the NHS in 2001 indicating that over half a million Australians (3% of the entire population) had diabetes as a long term disorder (ABS, 2005). This therefore requires a lot of care especially from nurses, who spend most of their time with patients. There are three types of diabetes, namely type 1 (likely to develop in people under 18 years, type 2 (common people over 40 years) and gestational diabetes mellitus (common during pregnancy) (ABS, 2006). Case study: Royal Perth Hospital, Australia The nursing fraternity at Royal Perth Hospital is charged with the responsibility of ensuing that diabetes mellitus patients are able to control their blood sugar levels and thus avoid further complications that might adversely disrupt their lifestyle. As a nursing manager therefore, I have the responsibility that nurses adhere top the nursing code of practice and perform their duties as is expected of them. These duties include caring for patients, working with the doctors to cure diabetes; coordinating the care of the patient whether admitted or an outpatient; protect the patient from the adverse effects of diabetes, teaching the patient and family about the condition, and advocating for the patient in all other therapies. At Perth Royal Hospital, most of the services are provided under the outpatient clinics. However, it is also customary even for patients newly diagnosed with type I diabetes to be admitted to a hospital bed. I also have a role to ensure that the nurses provide education and support for patients admitted at the hospital with diabetes-related conditions (Perth Royal Hospital, 2006). Prevalence statistics At the time of compiling this report, there were no immediate verifiable statistics for diabetes patients at Royal Perth Hospital. However, national and international statistics are highlighted in the following section. According to ABS (2006) statistics, by the year 2004-05, 13% of the people with diabetes reported having type 1 diabetes, 83% had type 1 diabetes, and the other 4% had reported having diabetes but unclear as to which type. This point calls for keen attention from nurses to support patients, both those who understand their condition and those who do not. The fact that the number of patients with diabetes has been increasing (figure 1) also emphasizes the need for nurses to be more diligent in their duties to ensure that the condition is managed. Figure 1: Diabetes in Australia prevalence: 1995-2005 Source: ABS (2006). Most of the service is provided in outpatient clinics. It is customary even for people newly diagnosed with Type1 Diabetes to be admitted to a hospital bed. The outpatient service at Royal Perth Hospital is mainly used by people with insulin dependent diabetes. In addition, it also treats people with type 2 diabetes who have complications or are referred to the facility (Royal Perth Hospital). In 2000-1 some $0.8 billion was spent on treating affected patients. This represents about 1.7 % of the total income expenditure on diseases (ABS, 2006). Information regarding diabetes, use of evidence and readiness for change at royal Perth Hospital Since diabetes is not a quick fix disease, its management depends on long intervention programmes. The diabetes centre at Royal Perth Hospital focuses on unique problems associated with the disease and educational needs. The research and evidence based champion at work is the nurse and is involved in enhancing medical knowledge of the disease through research in the diagnosis room as well as in the laboratory. There is thorough research on diabetes at Royal Perth Hospital and this has enhanced management of the disease. Patients are tested for angiotensin receptor blockers that block cell from taking up insulin. This is a product of very current research and is carried out under surveillance to ensure that it conforms to WHO standards (Perth Royal Hospital, 2006). In order keep abreast with what is happening, I read a variety of journal including the Diabetes Management Journal and The Medical Journal of Australia. These journals contain up-to-date information on what is being done to combat diabetes in Australia. In addition, there is a journal club through which members share printed journals and are also able to access an online library of medical journals. The matron at Royal Perth hospital in charge of the practice development and works in collaboration with the nurse manager in carrying out evidence based research about diabetes. At all times we collaborate with other bodies to ensure that our practices are effective and in line with the stipulations of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Council. Part 2: Search and selection of evidence Clinical question based on the PICO framework: How do diabetes mellitus patients manage their condition without clinical therapy? This question is framed in such a way that it addresses people, both those who are ware that they suffer from diabetes, and their condition. This is because in many cases, it is possible to deal with diabetes mellitus at its onset stage, and this can be successfully managed by the patients themselves with the help of nurses. Hence, patients can be pout on programmes through which they can effectively manage their blood glucose level and engage in practices that ensure that they eliminate the risk factors associated with the condition. From the intervention programmes that are implemented, it is possible for nurses to study the bets practice and recommend it for application across a wide number of patients. The outcomes of interventions such as dietary control, exercise regimen and other nonclinical intervention practices can be reviewed widely so as to come up with the best and most widely applicable measures to deal with the problem among patients and particularly in Australia. The following results were obtained buy using CATmaker to develop therapy and diagnosis for diabetes mellitus patients, particularly in dealing with high blood sugar levels: Part 1: Therapy The following is the diabetes therapy report generated from CATmaker: kitten therapy globals concealed single yes no 0 threepartq 1 how do you manage diabetes searchterms 1 diabetes numpats 1 40 numexpats 1 50 keychars 1 high blood glucose cstudfeats 1 insulin injections dateofbirth 1 Sunday, April 11, 2010 estudfeats 1 dietary controls nconv 1 28 nexp 1 37 outcome1 1 Insulin injection outcome2 1 Exercise outcome3 1 Dietary watch timeoc1 1 0800 timeoc2 1 1100 c11 1 33 p11 1 33 c12 1 40 p12 1 40 c21 1 34 p21 1 34 c22 1 42 p22 1 42 c31 1 32 p31 1 32 c32 1 39 p32 1 39 cer1 1 40 eer1 1 39 cer2 1 38 eer2 1 38 cer3 1 36 eer3 1 36 Part 2: Diagnosis The following is the diabetes diagnosis report generated from CATmaker: kitten diagnosis globals 1 dk dk dk dk no multi 0 0 threepartq 1 Dagnosis for diabetes keychars 1 high blood glucose content dateofbirth 1 Sunday, April 11, 2010 num1 1 40 num2 1 12 num3 1 35 num4 1 10 num4 1 10 num4 1 10 num4 1 10 num4 1 10 num4 1 10 num4 1 10 num4 1 10 num4 1 10 num4 1 10 num5 1 35 num6 1 12 num8 1 11 num9 1 31 num10 1 8 prop1 1 a prop2 1 b prop3 1 c prop4 1 d prop5 1 e prop6 1 f prop7 1 g prop8 1 h prop9 1 i prop10 1 j num7 1 34 diagdiscalc 1 Diabetes diagtestcalc 1 Diabetes Getting a way to manage diabetes mellitus without clinical therapy is one of the beat measures to deal with the condition especially for patients who are afraid of visiting hospitals to get medical care. In most cases, patients realize that they have diabetes when the condition as reached significant levels. Therefore, designing a programme that can be used by all patients regardless of their stage as far as diabetes mellitus is concerned can help nurses to offer their services mostly to outpatients or as consultants dealing with patients away from the health care facility. This requires extensive research from peer reviewed to obtain the best practices to apply across a large population of people suffering from diabetes mellitus and being in different stages of the disease (as well as suffering from any of the different types of diabetes). References Australian Bureau of Statistics (2005). Year book, Australia, Issue 87. Melbourne: Australian Bureau of Statistics. Australian Bureau of Statistics (2006). 4820.0.55.001 - Diabetes in Australia: A Snapshot, 2004-05. Retrieved 10 April, from http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4820.0.55.001 Perth Royal Hospital (2006). Department of Diabetes and Endocrinology. Retrieved 10 April, from http://www.rph.wa.gov.au/Endocrinology/index.htm. Williams, L. & Wilkins (2006). Diabetes Mellitus: A Guide to Patient Care. New York: Read More