Diabetes has become a major public health concern today. It is among the leading causes of death in the United States. As such, the government, through the Healthy People 2020 project, plans to reduce the burden of the disease and improve the quality of life for everyone. It addresses a broad range of issues relating to Type 2 Diabetes, including prevention, reduction of death rates, lessening complications and more as highlighted on the website. These aspects of the disease apply to the general American population. An emerging issue is whether the data reflect the specific concern of communities like African Americans. Compared to data generated, prevalence and cost of the disease are consistent; however, risk factors and racial disparity seems to be an issue and because of the strengths and weaknesses of the African Americans community, a multidisciplinary approach is required for improved outcome.
Similarities in Data Generated and that which was Gathered Online
Following detailed surveys and interviews and comparison of the generated data to the one outlined online, the information on prevalence and cost of Type 2 Diabetes was uniform in both sets of data. According to the Healthy People 2020 website, the disease affects at least 29.1 million Americans making it the seventh leading cause of death in the country (Healthy People 2020, 2019). Some of the complications associated with the disease include increased morbidity, risks of heart attack, amputations, kidney failures, and onset blindness among others. The financial cost of diabetes was estimated at $245 billion in 2012, including medical care, disability, and premature death among others (Healthy People 2020, 2019). These also serve as the reasons for addressing the disease.
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The interviews and surveys produced similar data, except the information, were more thorough. For instance, 29.1 million Americans diagnosed with diabetes translated to about 9.4% of the population. The data was also broken down into subsets of data reflecting the severity of the disease in specific populations. The disease is common among the elderly aged 65 years and above; it affects nearly 25.2% of them. Approximately 15.1% of Native Americans have Type 2 Diabetes, followed by African Americans at 12.7% and Hispanics at 12.1%. The rates in other races included Asian Americans at 8% and Whites at 7.4%. -the cost (both human and financial) remained the same. The generation of data involved analyzing peer-reviewed materials on the disease and interviewing scholars, government statisticians, and public health practitioners. Therefore, the data produced can be trusted since it is highly credible.
Differences in Data Generated and that which was Gathered Online
The information on risk factors of Type 2 Diabetes differs in the two data groups. Although online data shows an element of disparity in risk factors linked to the disease, little remains unknown especially on specific populations. For instance, according to the Healthy People 2020 report, people from minority populations such as African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, and Pacific Islanders are at a higher risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes. This is as far as the data goes. However, data generated from surveys and interviews produce interesting facts regarding risk factors of the disease with African Americans as the focus population. Compared to other ethnic groups, unique genetic traits, obesity, and insulin resistance are major contributors to diabetes in the American black community. For instance, physicians pointed out that African Americans are generally reported to be G6PD deficiency, genetic risk of Type 2 Diabetes.
Apart from risk factors, an aspect of the disease not sufficiently included in the website but uncovered from the research include the extent of racial disparity in the healthcare system. Health People 2020 project does not only omit to highlight the reality of inequality of America’s healthcare system but also fails to incorporate measures to resolve the problem in an attempt to mitigate diabetes. The general finding of the research is that health disparity for the black community can mean a decreased quality of life, higher mortality rates, and loss of economic opportunities. In specific, the increasingly widespread of Type 2 Diabetes among blacks is an indicator of the disparity. African Americans live in predominantly poor neighborhoods that are characterized by inadequate and poor healthcare coverage in terms of healthcare providers and practitioners. The few that exist are either not sufficiently equipped to cater to the unique health needs of the population or are overly expensive.
Strengths and Weakness of the African American Community
African American community is a generally disadvantaged community in matters pertaining to healthcare; however, a point of strength of the population is the level of self-support on both individual and family needs. A majority of blacks are self-supporting compared to people from other races that depend on various structures of their societies, such as families, institutions, and the likes. Some scholars choose to view this as a product of years of discrimination and lack of government support forcing black people to work extra hard for a better quality of life, and it is also a useful instrument towards realizing better healthcare. However, the extent to which self-support positively impacts health outcomes of the overall population especially regarding Type 2 Diabetes, remains insignificant.
Notable healthcare weaknesses of the population relating to diabetes include genetics and high rates of insulin resistance. As mentioned earlier, African Americans are predisposed to Type 2 Diabetes. A research advanced by Maggie Ng and his collaborators (2014) propose a model known as the thrifty gene theory. The theory claims the population was initially exposed to a repeated period of famine deriving a survival advantage from a thrifty gene – known to store fat – for survival (Ng , 2014). The community is now in the land of plenty, making the gene a significant contributor to obesity and insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is of particular concern among African Americans. As explained above, it is also a genetic issue. These two elements are considered a weakness since they are beyond control.
Improvement
Primary care characterized by distinct management protocol and a multidisciplinary approach would be ideal in managing type 2 diabetes among African Americans. The population faces unique sets of complications that are not experienced in other social groups. Therefore, a general approach to managing the condition would be futile. The team should involve nurses, educators, physicians, and other key healthcare professionals. For instance, in an adult population, lifestyle changes are required. The change needs to involve a reduction in weight and increased physical activity. In most part, this can be achieved through effective education and awareness. Getting people to exercise out of personal initiative is not an easy task. However, getting people to learn about the risks of the disease and providing them with essential resources such as smartphone apps to track their progress, access to a healthy diet, and the likes would go a long way.
Pharmacological therapy strictly applies to African American children but can also extend to diabetic adults. Insulin therapy has for a long time, been used to treat Type 2 Diabetes in African American infants and youth. The goal of such treatments, both in the young and adult populations, is to attain the desired level of blood pressure, glucose levels, and lipid levels ( Spencer et al., 2011) . Metformin, thiazolidinediones, and angiotensin are examples of drugs that can be used in improving insulin sensitivity ( Spencer et al., 2011) . The government should ensure easy access to such drugs by availing them to the community and getting rid of potential barriers to their accessibility such as costs. Also, educators have played their role of creating awareness, it is important to create a team of a nurse, physician, and family member or caregiver for each affected person for purposes of making sure the management of the disease is successful.
Conclusion
The government, through the Healthy People 2020 initiative, intends to address the growing public health concern that is type 2 diabetes. The goals, interventions mentioned to achieve them, and other aspects of the disease included online are worth-praising. This is especially because the data on the disease is consistent with the data obtained on the ground. However, there seems to be some significant mismatch in some aspects of the data suggesting that it does not reflect the true status of the disease on the ground especially where the African American population is concerned. The disease is prevalent in the social group compared to a majority of other ethnicities and this is because of their predisposition to certain risk factors evident to the community. Therefore, a general approach would not work in addressing type 2 diabetes among African Americans thereby calling for modification of the proposed approaches.
References
Healthy People 2020. (2019). Healthy People 2020 |. Retrieved from https://www.healthypeople.gov/
McCormack, S., & Grant, S. F. (2013). Genetics of obesity and type 2 diabetes in African Americans. Journal of obesity , 2013 .
Ng, M. C., Shriner, D., Chen, B. H., Li, J., Chen, W. M., Guo, X., ... & Comeau, M. E. (2014). A meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies in African Americans provides insights into the genetic architecture of type 2 diabetes. PLoS genetics , 10 (8), e1004517.
Spencer, M. S., Rosland, A. M., Kieffer, E. C., Sinco, B. R., Valerio, M., Palmisano, G., ... & Heisler, M. (2011). Effectiveness of a community health worker intervention among African American and Latino adults with type 2 diabetes: a randomized controlled trial. American journal of public health , 101 (12), 2253-2260.
