Education Plan For an At-Risk Population

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Introduction

Due to the divergences between various ethnic groups, some groups of people tend to be more exposed to some diseases than others. One of the most vulnerable populations out of those living in the US is the Afro-American group. These people have a higher risk of acquiring asthma, heart failure, kidney disease, lung cancer, diabetes, stroke, or unintentional injuries (Johnson, 2015). Not only do these people have worse access to health care but they also frequently are unaware of the dangers that their health conditions may cause. To improve the state of health among African Americans, it is necessary to develop education plans that will include all the necessary information to enhance the at-risk population’s chances of maintaining their health at a high level.

Identifying the Specific At-Risk Population

Afro-Americans have a much higher disposition towards developing diabetes than White Americans due to several reasons. First of all, the representatives of this population group are more prone to obesity which is one of the major causes of diabetes. Secondly, African Americans usually have high blood pressure which is another common cause of diabetes. Thirdly, these people’s level of education and life prevents them from finding out the information about early symptoms of diabetes, as well as its dangers. Thus, this population group faces a 77% higher danger of the disease in comparison with White Americans (Chow, Foster, Gonzalez, & McIver, 2012). Such a combination of social and environmental factors puts African American population at high risk of diabetes.

Evidence-Based Strategies to Improve Health Outcomes for the At-Risk Population Group

Many efforts have been and still are dedicated to the elimination of negative diabetes outcomes for African American population. Several evidence-based strategies have been suggested by the specialists with the aim of increasing the quality of health outcomes for the identified at-risk group.

The first strategy is arranging a patient-centered approach (American Diabetes Association, 2016). Evidence-based practice recommendations are aimed at instructing a general approach to care for diabetes patients. Healthcare workers have to combine their medical experience and science when giving recommendations to patients belonging to a risk group. Not only is the disease itself dangerous but its probable complications bring challenges as well. Thus, patient-centeredness allows clinicians to come up with individual plans of eliminating the risks for each patient.

The second evidence-based strategy in diabetes across the life span (American Diabetes Association, 2016). This approach is concerned with the fact that diabetes is a disease that develops into old age, which means that patients’ conditions should be analyzed at different life periods to obtain the best health outcomes and ways of managing the disease. Due to demographic-associated issues, there is a need to enhance the regulation between clinical approaches while patients move through the phases of their life span.

The third suggested strategy is arranging advocacy campaigns for diabetes patients. People with high risk for disease, such as African Americans, require additional assistance and participation in advocacy projects that are developed to enhance their chances to cope with diabetes (American Diabetes Association, 2016). Such social factors as low physical activity, smoking, and exposure to obesity should be addressed to make the representatives of the at-risk group less likely to meet the most severe challenges of diabetes.

Healthcare Resources that Serve the Vulnerable Population

One of the most effective ways of helping the vulnerable population group is organizing programs for easier access to healthcare services. Such resources may involve state and local financial support for underserved populations. With the help of such measures, the at-risk population group will acquire better access to health care, which will help eliminate the development of diabetes and its negative side effects.

Nursing Interventions that Will Provide Quality Care for At-Risk Population

Taking into consideration the demographic and social characteristics of the vulnerable population, the interventions should be simple and accessible. The easiest to implement is the one that presupposes the use of mobile phone applications (Nundy, Dick, Solomon, & Peek, 2013). One of the most accessible interventions is with the help of text messaging (Nundy et al., 2013). Research has shown that patients who receive text messages helping to monitor diabetes are better at managing their health condition than the ones who do not receive such messages. Another helpful feature is using smartphone applications. Since one of the most frequent causes of diabetes is obesity, an application Fooducate Weight Loss Coach is aimed at relieving this symptom and thus eliminating the possibility of the development of diabetes (“Fooducate weight loss coach,” 2017). With the help of this application, patients can develop healthy eating habits and decrease the risk of obesity. Fooducate Weight Loss Coach suggests information about the nutritional value of food and drink products. Also, with the help of the app, users can analyze the list of ingredients and evaluate the usefulness of the food they consume.

Another kind of interventions is based on the risk group’s religious beliefs. Williams et al. (2013) suggest a faith-based adaptation campaign Fit Body and Soul. The major goal of the program is eliminating obesity. Secondary objectives incorporate leveling blood pressure and raising the quality of life (Williams et al., 2013). The asset of this program is that it presupposes the cooperation of health professionals and church activists, which increases the opportunity of enrolling many representatives of the risk population group.

The third type of interventions addressing the problem of diabetes in African Americans is represented by culturally competent programs (Zeh, Sandhu, Cannaby, & Sturt 2012). Scholars suggest that such interventions are cost-effective and enable a high-quality assessment.

Strategies to Support Plan Implementation

To organize a better implementation of the suggested interventions, the following strategies may be employed:

evaluating the education plan: this measure will help to check whether all elements of interventions are possible to be met;
creating a vision for carrying out the plan: thinking of the steps that will lead to achieving the objectives of the intervention;
arranging a team of specialists that will be responsible for the implementation of the plan;
scheduling meetings at which the plan’s success will be discussed.

Conclusion

African American population is vulnerable due to various social and demographic reasons. Due to its vulnerability, this population group has a high disposition towards some dangerous diseases, one of which is diabetes. African Americans have worse access to health care, and they do not have enough knowledge of the disease’s side effects. In order to decrease the negative impact of diabetes of this at-risk population group, several types of interventions are suggested. These programs, if successfully implemented, will eliminate the risks faced by the vulnerable population group and will enable African Americans to lead a normal lifestyle.

References

American Diabetes Association. (2016). Strategies for improving care. Diabetes Care, 39(Suppl. 1), S6-S12.

Chow, E. A., Foster, H., Gonzalez, V., & McIver, L. (2012). The disparate impact of diabetes on racial/ethnic minority populations. Clinical Diabetes, 30(3), 130-133.

Fooducate weight loss coach. (2017). Web.

Johnson, K. (2015). Health is wealth: Five deadly health issues for African Americans.Black Enterprise. Web.

Nundy, S., Dick, J. J., Solomon, M. C., & Peek, M. E. (2013). Developing a behavioral model for mobile phone-based diabetes intervention. Patient Education and Counseling, 90(1), 125-132.

Williams, L. B., Sattin, R. W., Dias, J., Garvin, J. T., Marion, L., Joshua, T., … Narayan, K. M. V. (2013). Design of a cluster-randomized controlled trial of a diabetes prevention program within African-American churches: The fit body and soul study. Contemporary Clinical Trials, 34(2), 336-347.

Zeh, P., Sandhu, H. K., Cannaby, A. M., & Sturt, J. A. (2012). The impact of culturally competent diabetes-related outcomes in ethnic minority groups: A systematic review. Diabetic Medicine, 29(10), 1237-1252.

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