Toward a Theory of Diabetes Self-Care Management - Essay Example

"Toward a Theory of Diabetes Self-Care Management" is an excellent example of a paper on diabetes mellitus.
The article by Sousa, Valmi, and Zauszniewski, Jaclene entitled Toward a Theory of Diabetes Self-Care Management talks about diabetes and synthesizes knowledge on how people with the disease maintain it through self-care, explains factors that affect self-care, and elaborates on the conceptual framework and research model aimed at management of diabetes. The article explains the concepts of self-care and self-efficacy theories in nursing that are applied in the conceptual framework directed towards the management of diabetes. The framework suggests that self-care and self-efficacy are essential in the management of diabetes as they will determine the personal and environmental factors and explains how they will be used in nursing practice for the management of the disease.

Self-care management entails the modality of care that is applied to people with various chronic diseases and will entail effective control of the disease in question. For diabetes, self-care management will entail activities such as proper diet, exercise, monitoring of glucose, and administration of medicine. Orem's Theory of Self-Care (T-SC) explains that basic factors will influence a person’s engagement in self-care actions that will meet his or her own care demands. The theory explains that one will meet their therapeutic self-care demands and achieve the expected results of promoting and maintaining life, ensuring proper structure and functioning of the body hence ascertain healthy living.

Self-efficacy on the other hand, according to the Banduras Self-Efficacy Theory (S-ET) entails a form of self-confidence in one’s effective performance of certain behaviors and the belief that if one performs these behaviors the desired results will be achieved. Self-efficacy is thus the belief that performing certain activities or engaging in particular behaviors will result in the achievement of the desired outcome and in relation to diabetes, it implies that engaging in behaviors that ensure proper health will ascertain that proper management of the disease is achieved (Sousa & Zauszwewski, 2005). Self-efficacy will be influenced by enactive mastery experience, vicarious experience, encouragement, verbal persuasion and motivation, and psychological and affective state that are steered to the performance of behaviors that encourage and ensure management of diabetes.

I chose the article as it gives step-wise information and explains the various concepts and frameworks that are used to manage diabetes. Many people suffer from the disease and succumb to it as they do not know the frameworks and self-management procedures that should be used in the management of the disease. The article uses different theories that have been approved to explain how the disease can be maintained and thus it is a reliable source s that can be applied to better understand the management of the disease.

The nursing theories explained in the article will affect my nursing practice as they will impact my knowledge of diabetes and help me in applying the concepts of self-care and efficacy in attending to patients in the effort of ascertaining that the disease is maintained. This knowledge will help me in supporting and building capacities for self-care for my patients hence help in maintaining diabetes in all the patients I attend to.