Diabetes mellitus has emerged out to be the most common chronic illness issue in Australia. Diabetes can be defined as a physiological disorder that is characterized by the abnormal blood-glucose regulation in the body (Lee et al., 2013). Diabetes has been broadly characterized under subtypes such as Type II Diabetes, Type I Diabetes, Prediabetes and Gestational Diabetes (Kibbey et al., 2013). In accordance with the statistical data generated in the year 2017, it had been revealed that approximately 1.2 million people of the entire population were diagnosed with Diabetes. It should also be mentioned in this context that, by the end of the year 2015, it was estimated that 1,002,000 people were already surviving with reported Diabetes type II (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2018). 13.5% of the people from the total population were affected with Diabetes Type I (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2018). The primary cause of the wide spread prevalence was identified as the sedentary lifestyle, poor fibre intake, obesity, excessive body weight, smoking and alcohol consumption and reduced physical fitness. The hike in the number of diagnosed individuals significantly points out the seriousness of the prevalence rate of the disorder. At the end of every year, a notable 16.8% of new diagnosed cases are coming up that is making the disease scenario even more critical (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2018). It should further be noted that according to the statistical data collected the disease prevalence rate has increased considerably over the years with an increase of 7% cases in men in the year 2015, 5% in women, 17% in old-age patients and 5% in middle aged individuals in comparison to previous years. A significant 29% of newly diagnosed cases had been recorded in the second half of the year 2015 (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2018). This report intends to evaluate the existing policies with respect to Diabetes management in Australia and critically analyze the scenario with the help of needs assessment. Further, the paper aims to cover the evaluation outcome on the basis of strong recommendations.
Australia follows a comprehensive strategy to analyze the Diabetes prevalence data. It should be noted here that the disease prevalence data is collected at the stage of diagnosis across all health care organization operating at the territory and state level. The collected data is analyzed by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. In close association with the evidence furnished by the statistical figures, it can be mentioned that the prevalence rate of Diabetes has been considerably high in the members of the indigenous community (Zimmet et al., 2016). The prevalence rate has been recorded to be higher among aboriginal community member particularly because of reduced access to health care facilities. Particularly, studies suggest that from the time frame of 2013-2017 a stark increase of 13% of increase in the rate of prevalence was observed aboriginal men and women who had lack of access to education and awareness about the disease condition (Stoneman et al., 2014). The reports revealed that 46,200 aboriginal adults had diabetes. On the contrary, it should be noted that the prevalence of TIIDM was considerably higher among the female aboriginal members compared to men (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2018). The recorded prevalence rate has been retrieved to be approximately 1 individual out of every 8 individuals (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2018). A total of 56% of the female aboriginals were recorded to be affected with TIIDM compared to 44% men by the end of the year 2013 (Lee et al.,2013). The results stated that Diabetes was more prevalent in aboriginal women compared to men (Kibbey et al., 2013). Also, 6091 of the Type-I Diabetes cases were reported in children by the end of the year 2013 (Hollis et al., 2014). In addition to this 12.8% of individuals aged 15 years and above showed positive screening for Type II diabetes (Harris et al., 2013). The seriousness of the situation alarmed the Australian government that led to the launch of a multitude of disease management and prevention programs (Harding et al.,2014). Some of the successful disease prevention programs constitute of initiatives such as public health programs, community engagement programs and Diabetes management programs (Grantham et al., 2013).
Fig: NEEDS Assessment Tool
The Needs Assessment tool serves as an efficient tool that helps in analyzing the existing situation and accordingly devises a solution on the basis of the consistency and feasibility of implementing a reform. In order to effectively devise an effective reformed policy, the NEEDS assessment would be used to evaluate the existing scenario (Adegbija et al., 2015). It should be noted that despite the incorporation of health campaign programs on a massive scale, the prevalence rate of the disease has still not gone down. The primary reasons that can be enlisted for the same would incorporate the following reasons.
The best analysis approach that can be implied to combat the seriousness of the program would comprise of reviewing the existing national level policies and incorporate amendment for the benefit of the target population. The rationale for the chosen analysis has been considered at the national level so as to critically consider the statistical data collected across each state and accordingly implement effective reforms for the benefit of the identified target population in each state.
The challenges that could be encountered while framing and implementation of the revised policies would comprise of consideration of the social health determinants of the target population and the existing socio-political scenario. In addition to the same, the effective implementation of the proposed program design in compliance with the involved stakeholders and the infrastructural status to assimilate the proposed reform strategy (Abouzeid et al., 2013). In addition to this, the minimal skill of the workforce to feasibly incorporate the proposed reform strategy and uphold the vision of health and wellness for entire community.
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Strength · Effective political strategies · Collaborative activities · Advanced infrastructure · Promising research opportunities |
Weakness · Insufficient awareness schemes · Lack of coverage in rural and remote areas · Increased disease burden · Decreased stakeholder inclusion and territorial collaboration |
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Opportunities · Increased interest in global health issues · Improved disease management strategies · Improved medication therapy · Improved economic status |
Threats · Fragile health care system · Lack of improved access · Global disease burden · Widespread pandemic |
The designed program priorities would be broadly based upon four major areas that would cover, inclusion of biomedical intervention, behavioral intervention strategies and structural interventions. The primary objective would incorporate the prevention of new diagnosed cases, integration of Diabetes prevention strategies in the complete population base, decentralization of the rollout services along with technical support and detection at initial stage. Further the priorities would also focus on the reformation of the healthcare organizations and providence of disease management programs so as to administer self-management strategies to live a quality life.
Conclusion:
Hence, to conclude it can be said that effective needs assessment has helped in the generation of relevant data so as to identify the key priorities of the health issue. Further, it has also helped in the reframing process of the existing policy with minimal hindrance and has helped in the collection and interpretation of the invasive data findings collected from the research study. It has also helped in identifying unanticipated issues that might come up while designing policies and has substantially helped in finding effective solutions.
References:
Abouzeid, M., Philpot, B., Janus, E. D., Coates, M. J., & Dunbar, J. A. (2013). Type 2 diabetes prevalence varies by socio-economic status within and between migrant groups: analysis and implications for Australia. BMC public health, 13(1), 252.
Adegbija, O., Hoy, W., & Wang, Z. (2015). Predicting absolute risk of type 2 diabetes using age and waist circumference values in an aboriginal Australian community. PloS one, 10(4), e0123788.
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2018). Diabetes snapshot, How many Australians have diabetes? – Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Retrieved from https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/diabetes/diabetes-snapshot/contents/how-many-australians-have-diabetes
Grantham, N. M., Magliano, D. J., Hodge, A., Jowett, J., Meikle, P., & Shaw, J. E. (2013). The association between dairy food intake and the incidence of diabetes in Australia: the Australian Diabetes Obesity and Lifestyle Study (AusDiab). Public health nutrition, 16(2), 339-345.
Harding, J. L., Shaw, J. E., Peeters, A., Guiver, T., Davidson, S., & Magliano, D. J. (2014). Mortality trends among people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes in Australia: 1997–2010. Diabetes Care, DC_140096.
Harris, S. B., Bhattacharyya, O., Dyck, R., Hayward, M. N., & Toth, E. L. (2013). Type 2 diabetes in Aboriginal peoples. Canadian journal of diabetes, 37, S191-S196.
Hollis, M., Glaister, K., & Anne Lapsley, J. (2014). Do practice nurses have the knowledge to provide diabetes self-management education?. Contemporary nurse, 46(2), 234-241.
Kibbey, K. J., Speight, J., Wong, J. L. A., Smith, L. A., & Teede, H. J. (2013). Diabetes care provision: barriers, enablers and service needs of young adults with type 1 diabetes from a region of social disadvantage. Diabetic medicine, 30(7), 878-884.
Lee, C. M. Y., Colagiuri, R., Magliano, D. J., Cameron, A. J., Shaw, J., Zimmet, P., & Colagiuri, S. (2013). The cost of diabetes in adults in Australia. Diabetes research and clinical practice, 99(3), 385-390.
Stoneman, A., Atkinson, D., Davey, M., & Marley, J. V. (2014). Quality improvement in practice: improving diabetes care and patient outcomes in Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services. BMC health services research, 14(1), 481.
Zimmet, P., Alberti, K. G., Magliano, D. J., & Bennett, P. H. (2016). Diabetes mellitus statistics on prevalence and mortality: facts and fallacies. Nature Reviews Endocrinology, 12(10), 616.
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