You need to write a policy for advocacy. You should choose a community or health organisation and then decide upon the health issue you are advocating for, and the specific population in which this issue occurs.
Target group
The advocacy policy targets diabetes patients. More specifically, it will target women who are aged above 45 years, owing to their increased risk of having the health problem. The policy will seek to establish ways in which they will be prevented from contracting the health problem. It will also aim to prevent the progression of disease in the patients and as well enable them to get the most appropriate care whenever they need it.
Reason for Selecting the Target Group
Diabetes is characterized by blood sugar levels being higher than normal. It appears in two types. Type 1 diabetes is characterized by the inability of the body to make insulin (American Diabetes Association, 2015, p.97). Insulin is a hormone that plays the role of conversion of glucose into glycogen (Segrè et al., 2014, p.140703). People with type 1 diabetes, therefore, have to rely on insulin shots to assist in the proper conversion of glucose into glycogen (Nolan et al., 2015, p.675). Type 2 diabetes is characterized by the inability of cells of the body to respond to the insulin produced. It is the most common form of diabetes. The health problem is most common among people who are overweight (Leibel et al., 2015, 2299).
Urgency of the Problem
Diabetes is a health problem that normally needs to be dealt with a high level of urgency. The reason behind the case is that it leads to complications according to Nathan et al., (2016), among them being damage to the kidneys, nerves, and eyes. The International Diabetes Federation (2015) in their 2015 report indicated that globally, about 415 million people had been diagnosed with Diabetes. Out of this faction, about 37 percent of them were in the Pacific region, including Australia. With certainty on Australia, the International Diabetes Federation report indicated that about 1 million of its citizens tested positive with type-2 Diabetes mainly between the year 2014 and 2015. This was an increase, considering that in the period 2011 to 2012, the figure was at 840, 000 Australians.
While Diabetes is associated with family history of with the diseases, studies indicate that there are other major risk factors for Diabetes. Among them include obesity, which predisposes people with poor lifestyles and dieting type 2 diabetes. The condition occurs due to the insulin resistance that results in a lack of controlled blood sugar levels in a patient. The control of obesity according to statistics can highly likely reduce the incidence of type-2 diabetes mellitus globally. In the years 2014 to 2015, very high type-2 diabetes mellitus rates was realized among many adults that were classified as being obese (6%) than the adults considered as overweight (4.9%). This impacted heavily on Australia’s economy while at the same time increasing the number of finances needed by the country in investing in disease control (International Diabetes Federation, 2015). On a general scale in Australia, people who live in the country’s regional parts total up to 6.7 percent rate of all diabetes cases in Australia. This rate is higher when rated along with major cities that have a 4.7% diabetes rate, and this shows that the difference in the percentage of those with diabetes and those without is mainly similar according to AIHW (2006a).
The development and adoption of best self-management techniques among Australians are necessary. Both individual and group education that has short term and long term goals should be focused on encouraging growth in all territories where diabetes and its related ailments are common. Statistics also show that 280 Australians develop the health problem daily. Thus, the index shows that a person in Australia develops diabetes every five minutes. About 1.7 million Australians have diabetes (Diabetes Australia, 2018, np). Statistics also show that about 100000 Australians developed diabetes in 2017. The total annual cost for the health problem is estimated at $14.6 billion.
Background of the Organization and aims and objectives
Diabetes Australia is a not-for-profit organisation that was formed with the unionization of Australian Diabetes Society and Diabetes Federation of Australia. It was founded in 1937 and regarded to be among the oldest diabetes organisations in the world. The aim of Diabetes Australia is to create a nationwide awareness regarding diabetes mellitus. Its objectives are to develop national programs that are aimed at calling for people and entities to observe healthy environments. It is through the process that they are likely to reduce the chances of people developing the health problem, a case that could interfere with their quality of life (Diabetes Australia, 2018, np). The organisation also aims to improve upon the element of research. Granted, it has the chance to identify practices to be adopted in the current world, which bears a chance to reduce the chances of people contracting diabetes. Through the process of research, there is also a chance of adopting the best treatment mechanisms that are essential in alleviating people from the challenges they might be having as a result of having the health problem. Goals and Achievements till Date
One goal of the organization is to improve the willingness of people to take up preventive actions against diabetes. Another goal of Diabetes Australia is to improve the level of early detection of patients and ensure they enroll in therapy early. It is through the process that the extent of harm of the health problem reduces considerably. The organization also has the goal of improving the affordability of diabetes treatment and management among patients by calling for the subsidization of the costs involved. One of the achievements of the organization is being part of the formulation team of the National Diabetes Strategy and Implementation Plan. The plan aimed to identify some of the gaps that exist in the care and management of diabetes, with the aim of bridging the gap effectively. The organization has also developed a strategy that has aided in proper record-taking of diabetes cases in the country.
Values of the Organization
Diabetes Australia adheres to values that will enable it to provide quality services. The values include support and encouragement. Support involves providing the women with diabetes financial assistance to enable them access better healthcare. The support also involves informing women who do not have diabetes on measures to take to avoid contracting the health problem. The encouragement aspect relates to giving women a message of hope in a bid to improve their self-efficacy. Thus, they are likely to benefit more from the treatment they are accorded. The values are aimed at improving upon the views that people with the health problem have regarding their situation. They are, therefore, likely to establish the right mechanisms within which they might take advantage of their situation to improve their wellbeing (Diabetes Australia, 2018, np). People with diabetes are also likely to learn from the actions taken by other people with the health problem to improve their situation (Boyle et al., 2016, p.33). They are also likely to locate the different health facilities that are critical towards dealing with the challenge effectively.
Introduction
The Ottawa health framework was developed in 1986. Its aim was to improve the level of health provision which would ensure that people attain better health outcomes by the year 200 and beyond. The charter was majorly geared towards health promotion. The health promotion aspect of the charter details to the idea that various resources are required in dealing with disease (Better Health Channel, 2017). They include; shelter, peace, education, income, food, social justice and equity, sustainable resources and a stable ecosystem. The health promotion element also contains three strategies. These include; to advocate, to mediate and to enable. Advocacy entails approaching the various dimensions of quality of life which includes the economic, political, social, environmental behavior and cultural with the aim to improve the health outcomes of people.
Enabling involves improving the availability of healthcare among people. It is, therefore, through the process that they are in a position to gain access to resources that improve the health outcomes of individuals. Thus, it improves on the equal opportunity for people who have different health illnesses. The mediation aspect relates to the coordination of the various sectors in healthcare, such as the government, the private sector and healthcare facilities to push for better health outcomes among individuals.
Purpose of the framework
The purpose of the framework cut the disease burden created by diabetes. It is achieved through the reduction of chances of contracting the disease early management or better management of the problem.
Aim/s and Objectives of the policy for Advocacy
The Health Framework
The health framework will advocate for the government to provide more resources towards dealing with the problem of diabetes among women, especially, those aged 45 or more years. The action may be attained by providing more financing through Medicaid (Diabetes Australia, 2013, np). Politicians may also call for actions that provide an impetus for the improvement of diabetes care. For instance, they may call for subsidies in insulin, thus, ensuring that people with diabetes have a chance to access it (Inzucchi et al., 2015, p.142).
Through the process of enabling, Diabetes Australia seeks to inform women with diabetes on the best strategies to undertake to prevent them from suffering immense harm from the healthy problem. It, therefore, informs them of the need to consistently take the drugs they have been prescribed to reduce the extent of disease (Marso et al., 2016, p.314). The mediation process is majorly pegged on bringing on board the various players involved in diabetes care. They include the governmental and non-governmental stakeholders. They are, therefore, likely to establish measures that improve the element of diabetes care among women. An instance would be call for regular check-ups among women (Zinman et al., 2015, p.2118). The process ensures that any case of the problem is easily identified and the woman is oriented to care. The process also enables the women to gain access to information that may prevent them from contracting the health problem. For instance, they may need to be informed on the diets to adhere to as well as the need for regular exercise.
Recommendations/call to actions for government
Conclusion
To sum up, diabetes affects people who are overweight, among others. Due to the increased need for information regarding the health problem, the Diabetes Australia is keen on acting as a central platform on which people share their experiences. The organisation also aids in supporting and encouraging people with the health challenge. Thus, it is likely to improve upon the level of hope they might be having in regards to the improvement of their situation. The organisation also shares information as it relates to the outcomes of different research studies conducted in line with diabetes. The organisation could push the government to provide more funding towards the treatment of diabetes. The government could also conduct many promotional campaigns that are aimed at improving the level of awareness that people have regarding the health problem
References
American Diabetes Association, 2015. Standards of medical care in diabetes—2015 abridged for primary care providers. Clinical diabetes: a publication of the American Diabetes Association, 33(2), p.97.
Australia, H., 2018. Type 1 diabetes. 2
Better Health Channel. (2017). Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/servicesandsupport/ottawa-charter-for-health-promotion?viewAsPdf=true
Boyle, E., Saunders, R. and Drury, V., 2016. General practice nurse diabetes care: What do patients experience?. Australian Nursing and Midwifery Journal, 23(9), p.33.
Chow, E., Bernjak, A., Williams, S., Fawdry, R.A., Hibbert, S., Freeman, J., Sheridan, P.J. and Heller, S.R., 2014. Risk of cardiac arrhythmias during hypoglycemia in patients with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular risk. Diabetes, 63(5), pp.1738-1747.
De Felice, F.G. and Ferreira, S.T., 2014. Inflammation, defective insulin signaling, and mitochondrial dysfunction as common molecular denominators connecting type 2 diabetes to Alzheimer disease. Diabetes, 63(7), pp.2262-2272.
Deed, G., Kilov, G., Phillips, P., Sharma, A., Leow, S., Arthur, I., Barlow, J. and Kennedy, M., 2016. Peer-to-Peer, Interactive GP Education can Reduce Barriers to Best Practice in Diabetes Management. Diabetes Therapy, 7(1), pp.153-161.
Diabetes Australia. 2013. Federal Election 2013: A National Diabetes Strategy and Action Plan https://static.diabetesaustralia.com.au/s/fileassets/diabetes-australia/e549bdb8-0f80-46f8-b827-35cb4f1b6cd2.pdf
Diabetes Australia. 2018. Breaking Down the Insulin Signaling System https://www.diabetesaustralia.com.au/
Diabetes Australia. 2018. Diabetes in Australia https://www.diabetesaustralia.com.au/diabetes-in-australia
Fenwick, E.K., Rees, G., Holmes-Truscott, E., Browne, J.L., Pouwer, F. and Speight, J., 2018. What is the best measure for assessing diabetes distress? A comparison of the Problem Areas in Diabetes and Diabetes Distress Scale: results from Diabetes MILES–Australia. Journal of health psychology, 23(5), pp.667-680.
Green, J.B., Bethel, M.A., Armstrong, P.W., Buse, J.B., Engel, S.S., Garg, J., Josse, R., Kaufman, K.D., Koglin, J., Korn, S. and Lachin, J.M., 2015. Effect of sitagliptin on cardiovascular outcomes in type 2 diabetes. New England Journal of Medicine, 373(3), pp.232-242.
International Diabetes Federation, 2015, Risk Factors, <https://www.idf.org/about-diabetes/risk-factors>; last accessed 07/12/2015.
Inzucchi, S.E., Bergenstal, R.M., Buse, J.B., Diamant, M., Ferrannini, E., Nauck, M., Peters, A.L., Tsapas, A., Wender, R. and Matthews, D.R., 2015. Management of hyperglycemia in type 2 diabetes, 2015: a patient-centered approach: update to a position statement of the American Diabetes Association and the European Association for the Study of Diabetes. Diabetes care, 38(1), pp.140-149.
Leibel, R.L., Seeley, R.J., Darsow, T., Berg, E.G., Smith, S.R. and Ratner, R., 2015. Biologic responses to weight loss and weight regain: report from an American Diabetes Association research symposium. Diabetes, 64(7), pp.2299-2309.
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Nathan, D.M., Bebu, I., Braffett, B.H., Orchard, T.J., Cowie, C.C., Lopes-Virella, M., Schutta, M., Lachin, J.M., Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT and Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications (EDIC) Research Group, 2016. Risk factors for cardiovascular disease in type 1 diabetes. Diabetes, p.db151517.
Nolan, C.J., Ruderman, N.B., Kahn, S.E., Pedersen, O. and Prentki, M., 2015. Insulin resistance as a physiological defense against metabolic stress: implications for the management of subsets of type 2 diabetes. Diabetes, 64(3), pp.673-686.
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Segrè, A.V., Wei, N., Altshuler, D., Florez, J.C., DIAGRAM Consortium and MAGIC investigators, 2014. Pathways targeted by anti-diabetes drugs are enriched for multiple genes associated with type 2 diabetes risk. Diabetes, p.DB_140703.
Zinman, B., Wanner, C., Lachin, J.M., Fitchett, D., Bluhmki, E., Hantel, S., Mattheus, M., Devins, T., Johansen, O.E., Woerle, H.J. and Broedl, U.C., 2015. Empagliflozin, cardiovascular outcomes, and mortality in type 2 diabetes. New England Journal of Medicine, 373(22), pp.2117-2128
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